The Civil Procedure Rules Committee has announced the costs caps in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (“IPEC”) will increase in October 2022.
The IPEC is a popular choice for intellectual property claims that are smaller in value (up to £500,000 of damages), and where the parties want a reduced downside risk of losing through caps on the costs that can be awarded to a successful party. These can really help SMEs in particular but larger companies have also made good use of the regime.
The caps apply to costs up to a final determination of a claim in relation to liability, and costs on an inquiry as to damages or account of profits. Both of these overall caps are also subject to a scale costs regime setting out caps for the costs recoverable for each stage of the claim.
From October 2022, the overall cap for the liability stage will increase from £50,000 to £60,000, and the overall cap for the quantum stage will increase from £25,000 to £30,000. The stage caps will also be amended to reflect the increase in the overall caps.
This is the first change to the overall caps since they were set in 2010 and the first change to the stage caps since 2013.
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About the author(s)
John Coldham is UK Head of Brands and Designs, and co-heads the global practice. The Team is MIP Designs Firm of the Year 2021, having also won the award in 2019 and 2020. It is the first firm ever to win the award three years in a row.
Arnie Francis is a senior associate in Gowling WLG's IP team. He is both a UK (2015) and European (2016) qualified patent attorney.