Managing IP reports on the recent civil procedure rules reform which may affect IP litigants in England and Wales. The Civil Procedure Rule Committee last month approved the new rules on disclosure which were proposed by a group of court users and judges including Mr Justice Birss (an IP judge). The working group was chaired by former Court of Appeal judge Dame Elizabeth Gloster. The new rules will apply to existing and new proceedings in the Business and Property Courts (BPC) of England and Wales.

IP cases will be affected, though there are exemptions, because the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) and the Patents Court were brought under the BPC umbrella in 2017. Subject to approval by the relevant government minister, a mandatory pilot scheme for the new rules will run for two years, starting from January 1 2019.

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