Rise in IP claims going to court

The number of small businesses taking intellectual property battles to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) hit a record in 2017, a report reveals today.

Claims heard by the IPEC last year rose 8 per cent to 367 from 339 in 2016 and are up more than a quarter (28 per cent) over the past five years, says law firm Hugh James.

The IPEC helps small businesses protect their intellec- tual property (IP) and covers claims worth up to £500,000.

Today’s report says rising claims are partly driven by “increased awareness” among firms of the need to protect intellectual property.

“Growing numbers of technology companies, in particular, are using the court, as IP will often represent their most valuable asset,” it says.

The report says businesses can also use the value of their intellectualproperty tosecure finance to invest in expansion.”

Tracey Singlehurst-ward, a partner at Hugh James, said: “Small businesses are showing they are prepared to go all the way to the courts to protect their IP.

“While manufacturing companies continue to [be] a large proportion of cases to the IPEC, more tech companies are using it to protect their assets.”

She added that most SMES in an IP dispute settle out of court but “there is still plenty of headroom for the number of disputes to grow”.