Patents: New Patent Rules and Tribunal Practice Notice
One of the recommendations of the Gowers Report on Intellectual Property was for the Ministry of Justice (as the Department of Constitutional Affairs is now called) to "review the issues raised in relation to IP cases and the fast track and seek views in the context of its forthcoming consultation paper, which will consider the case track limits, and how the claims process can be made more timely, proportionate and cost-effective. It should bring forward any proposals for change by the end of 2007" (Recommendation 54). Like much of the report this recommendation was based on the false premise that "many of the benefits of the fast track system, such as capped costs, limited trial length and limited disclosure, do not apply to IP cases" (para 6.30). Nobody seems to have mentioned to them the streamlined procedure in the Patents Court and Patents County Court: "A streamlined procedure is one in which, save and to the extent that it is otherwise ordered: (i) all f...