Goodbye PCC, hello 'Intellectual Property Enterprise Court'

The Patents County Court (PCC) has been with us in its current, revitalised form, since October 2010. It has been a tremendous success, with the number of claims issued per year more than doubling in its short lifespan. It has given life to claims that parties might otherwise not have been able to justify, particularly in the fields which were rarely litigated in the High Court, such as design law.

1 October 2013 marks a new milestone in its history. It has been the subject of a rebrand and a restructure but in essence it is the same as before. Here's what you need to know:

• The new name for the court is the 'Intellectual Property Enterprise Court'
• The court is no longer a 'county court', but a specialist list of the Chancery Division of the High Court
• It deals with the full range of IP rights, including patents, designs, trade marks, passing off, copyright and other IP rights
• Active case management by the courts has led to a more informal, streamlined administration of justice, with some cases being resolved in just a few months from start to finish
• Although there is still no single judge presiding over the court since Mr Justice Birss's elevation to the High Court, the quality of the judgments remains extremely high, with specialist judges hearing trials
• It is still based in the new Rolls Building off London's Fetter Lane
• The cost recovery cap remains at £50,000 and the damages cap at £500,000
• The court still hosts the small claims track, which is for claims for damages of up to £10,000

Wragge & Co has seen an increasing interest in this forum since its inception in its current form in 2010, and clients are finding it to be an incredibly useful way of getting decisions quickly and efficiently, with a limit on the risk of an adverse costs order.