S.287 (1) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 enables the Lord Chancellor to designate any county court as a patents county court and to confer on it jurisdiction to hear and determine patents, designs, or ancillary proceedings. By the Patents County Court (Designation and Jurisdiction) Order 1994 the Lord Chancellor designated the Central London County Court as a Patents County Court.
Trials and other hearings are conducted not at Park Crescent where the rest of the court is located but at St. Dunstan’s House in Fetter Lane. Cases are listed by the Chancery Listing officer of the High Court rather than by the County Court staff.
CPR Part 63, the Part 63 Practice Direction and the Patents Court Guide apply to the Patents County Court as they do to the Patents Court.
IP/IT Update 