English High Court proposes patent trial shakeup

The English High Court has outlined a series of procedures that it will adopt to ensure that a claim of patent infringement can be heard at trial within 12 months of it being filed.

Mr Justice Arnold published the statement yesterday, December 10, on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website.

Claimants and defending parties will be required to begin discussing workable dates for hearings as soon as it is reasonably possible after a patent claim has been filed.

Hearing dates will continue to be advertised on the trial window assembled by the Chancery List Office. They will be divided in three categories: up to five days, six to ten days, and more than ten days.

The categories exclude the time taken for pre-reading and preparation of closing submissions.

Arnold has also promised that the court will be “more active” in ensuring cases comply with the court’s requirement that each case is dealt in a justly and proportionate manner.

He said that a court may restrict the time limit on a hearing for a case such as from six to five days to ensure a fair cost for both parties.

Parties will still be able to use the shorter trial and flexible trial pilot scheme, a streamlined court procedure put forward by the court earlier this year.

The new scheme will not interfere with the expedition of a case where it is warran ted.