header-logo header-logo

Think on?

11 August 2011 / Jane Foulser McFarlane
Issue: 7478 / Categories: Features , Profession , ADR
printer mail-detail

Is low cost dispute resolution the way forward for IP law, asks Jane Foulser McFarlane

Professor Ian Hargreaves undertook a review of the UK intellectual property (IP) law last November to ascertain whether the current IP law framework is obstructing innovation and economic growth. The Hargreaves report, Digital Opportunity: A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth, was published in May—the fifth IP review to have been published in the last six years and the latest to conclude that there is enormous scope for the improvement of our IP laws.

In November 2006, Andrew Gowers published the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property which set out the four necessary criteria for the adequate enforcement of IP rights:

  • an awareness of IP rights;
  • penalties for infringement;
  • pursuit of infringers; and
  • a mechanism to resolve conflict.

Jackson proposals

The Jackson Review of Civil Litigation Costs, published in January 2010, made specific recommendations for making the IP litigation system more cost-effective. These recommendations included the implementation of a small claims track in the patent county court

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll