A new small claims track was introduced to the Patents County Court (PCC) on 1 October 2012. The aim is to speed up the court process and make it cheaper and easier to protect intellectual property (IP) rights.
The small claims track provides copyright, trade mark and unregistered design holders the option of pursuing basic IP disputes through an informal hearing, without legal representation. This will reduce the cost of pursuing IP infringement cases.
Whilst this new track is welcome news, it will probably be of limited interest since claims will be subject to damages restrictions of £5,000 or less.
Full details can be found here.