The Patents County Court (Financial Limits) (No. 2) Order 2011

• Citation: S.I. 2011/2222
• Sections: 5

Section 1 Citation and commencement

This Order may be cited as the Patents County Court (Financial Limits) (No.2) Order 2011 and shall come into force on 1st October 2011.

Section 2 Interpretation

In this Order—

(a) “ the Act ” means the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 ;

(b) “legal representative” means a person who, for the purposes of the Legal Services Act 2007 , is an authorised person in relation to an activity which constitutes the exercise of a right of audience or the conduct of litigation (within the meaning of that Act);

(c) “patents county court” means a county court designated as a patents county court under section 287(1) of the Act; and

(d) “relevant claim” means a claim for damages or an account of profits which—

(i) is one to which rule 63.13 of the Civil Procedure Rules applies, but

(ii) does not relate to matters within the special jurisdiction of a patents county court under section 287(1) of the Act.

Section 3 Financial limits

(1) In proceedings in a patents county court relating to a relevant claim, the amount or value of that claim shall not exceed £500,000, subject to paragraph (3).

(2) In relation to a relevant claim in a patents county court, the county court limit is £500,000 for the purposes of section 17 of the County Courts Act 1984 (which allows abandonment of part of a claim to give a county court jurisdiction).

(3) If the parties agree, by a memorandum signed by them or their respective legal representatives, that a patents county court shall have jurisdiction in proceedings in relation to a relevant claim, that court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine the proceedings.

(4) In determining the amount or value of a relevant claim for the purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2), a claim for—

(a) interest, other than interest payable under an agreement, or

(b) costs,

shall be disregarded.

Section 4 Transitional Provision

A patents county court has jurisdiction to hear and determine a relevant claim exceeding the limit imposed by article 3(1) where, before the coming into force of this Order—

(a) the claim has been made in a patents county court,

(b) the High Court orders the proceedings in which the claim has been made to be transferred to a patents county court, or

(c) an application has been made to the High Court for transfer of the proceedings in which the claim has been made to a patents county court, and after the coming into force of this Order, the High Court orders the transfer of the proceedings to a patents county court.

Section 5 Amendment

In the High Court and County Courts Jurisdiction Order 1991 , at the end of article 2(1), after the word “proceedings” insert “except as provided in relation to a patents county court by article 3 of the Patents County Court (Financial Limits) (No.2) Order 2011”.