Irish Patents Office rebrands as part of IP reforms
Ireland’s IP office has rebranded as part of new reforms enacted this week.
Under the new Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Law Provisions Act 2019, the Irish Patents Office will now be called the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland (IPOI) or, in Irish, Oifig Maoine Intleachtúla na hÉireann.
The IPOI will have responsibility for all areas of IP, including trademarks and copyright.
An Irish government press release said that the change “better reflects the role of the office, which is in line with the more standardised naming convention for such offices across the EU”.
The post of Controller of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks has also been renamed as Controller of Intellectual Property.
The Act will also allow intellectual property owners to pursue lower value IP infringement claims in the district and circuit courts. The government said this could bring down litigation costs.
Heather Humphreys, minister for business, enterprise, and innovation, said that the “important piece of legislation marks the conclusion of a process of modernising copyright legislation, which was initiated in 2011”.
She said it would be of particular interest to those “engaged in scientific and other research, those involved in education and training and will enhance Ireland’s reputation for the protection of IP”.
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