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3 May 2017Copyright

IP unjustified threats bill receives Royal Assent

The Intellectual Property (Unjustified Threats) Bill, aimed at making disputes over IP easier to resolve, has received Royal Assent in the UK.

The law being replaced puts restrictions on what can be said out of court in order to settle a dispute, according to the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA).

“If an IP owner is found to have gone too far, the alleged infringer could sue for damages for having to face ‘unjustified threats’. A professional adviser, such as a patent or trademark attorney, acting on instructions from a client could also be liable,” said CIPA in a statement.

The current law differs depending on which IP right is involved.

The new law will harmonise the different regimes and clarify what can and can’t be said in pre-action correspondence. It also protects professional advisers from legal action.

Formal secondary legislation is still required before the bill can become law and this is expected to be passed later this year.

CIPA contributed to the legislation through the submission of written consultation responses and written evidence to the House of Lords.

Vicki Salmon, chair of CIPA’s litigation committee, said: “I am pleased that the government has succeeded in passing this bill.  I would also like to acknowledge the hard work done by the Law Commission in preparing the bill and the scrutiny which the bill received in the House of Lords.”

CIA welcomed the exemption given to IP legal advisers when acting on their client’s instructions.

“The previous regime militated against seeking pre-action settlement of IP disputes, as the recipient could use the threat of suing the lawyer for an unjustified threat as a means of separating the IP right holder from his chosen legal adviser,” she said.

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2 October 2017   The Intellectual Property (Unjustified Threats) Act 2017 came into force in the UK yesterday.