NIPC Law

Author  Ciencias Españolas  Licence CC BY-SA 3.0   Source Wikipedia Commons   Jane Lambert Patents Court (Mr Justice Mellor)    Hill v Touchlight Genetics Ltd and others [2024] EWHC 533 (Pat) (08 March 2024) The High Court has power under s.70 (1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 to call in the aid of one or more assessors specially qualified, and hear and dispose of the cause or matter wholly or partially with their assistance if it thinks it expedient to do so. Subsection (3) of the same section requires rules of court to make provision for the appointment of scientific advisers to assist the Patents Court in proceedings under the Patents Act 1977 and for regulating the functions of such advisers. S.70 is implemented by CPR 35.15 .  Para (2) of that rule mandates the assessor to assist the court in dealing with a matter in which the assessor has skill and experience. He or she is obliged by CPR 35. 15 (3) to take such part in the proceed...

Royal Courts of Justice Author Aurelian Guichard   Licence CC BY-SA Deed   Source Wikimedia Commons   Jane Lambert Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (Recorder Michaels )  Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society Ltd and another v Made Television Ltd and others [2024] EWHC 405 (IPEC) (29 Feb 2024) This was an application by the defendants to a debt recovery and copyright infringement claim for permission to file and serve an Amended Defence and Counterclaim. The claimants offered to consent to amendments to the Defence but not to the launch of a counterclaim.  The application was heard by Recorder Michaels at a case management conference on 21 Feb 2024.  The recorder handed down her judgment on 29 Feb 2024. The claimants referred the recorder to CPR 17.1 (2) (b) , CPR 20.4 (2) (b ) and paras [40] to [42] of Lady Justice Asplin's judgment in Elite Property Holdings Ltd and Another v Barclays Bank Plc [2019] EWCA Civ 2212: "[40] …it is important to bear ...

Jane Lambert Patents Court (Mr Justice  Mann)    Illumina, Inc. and Another v TDL Genetics Ltd and Others [2019] EWHC 79 (Pat) (22 Jan 2019)   CPR 31.6 requires a party to litigation to disclose to his or her opponent not only the documents on which he or she relies but also the documents which adversely affect his or her own case or that of another party, support the case of another party or any document that he or she is obliged to disclose by a relevant practice direction.  Sometimes such a document contains a trade secret or other confidential information .  When that happens the court is presented with what Lord Justice Buckley called in Warner-Lambert Co. v Glaxo Laboratories Ltd.  [1975] RPC 354, 356 "a balance or conflict of expedients." In that case, the defendant asserted that the documents that the claimant sought to inspect contained "secrets of considerable commercial value".  The learned lord justice continued: ...