Guidance

Guide to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court Small Claims Track

Updated 18 July 2024

Applies to England and Wales

This guide applies to the Small Claims Track (SCT) within the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC). It aims to help users and potential users of the IPEC SCT by giving practical tips and explaining:

• how to decide if the IPEC SCT is suitable for a claim
• how claims proceed in the IPEC SCT
• what procedures apply in the IPEC SCT
• how to contact the IPEC SCT

This edition of the guide has been updated to July 2023.

At the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020, certain EU registered and unregistered intellectual property rights that previously fell within the scope of the IPEC SCT, stopped being enforceable in the courts of England and Wales. Limited transitional provisions apply, but these are not set out in this guide as they will apply only to a small number of claims.

The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) govern proceedings in civil courts in England and Wales, which are supplemented by Practice Directions (PD).

Part 63 – Intellectual Property Claims (CPR 63) and Practice Direction 63 – Intellectual Property Claims (PD 63) set out additional rules that apply only to intellectual property claims. The rules which apply specifically to IPEC small claims are:

• CPR 63.27 and CPR 63.28
• PD 63 paragraph 32.2
• all other rules and paragraphs referred to in CPR 63.27, CPR 63.28 and PD 63 paragraph 32.2
• CPR 27 – which deals with the SCT in general

Where there is any conflict or confusion between the provisions of this guide and the CPR, you must follow the rules and practices as set out in the CPR.

You can find further useful information in the Guide to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, the Patents Court Guide and the Chancery Guide.

The IPEC and the IPEC SCT

The IPEC is a simplified and more cost-effective court that hears lower value and less complex intellectual property claims. IPEC cases are allocated either to the multi-track or the SCT.

The IPEC SCT has simpler procedures that allow the most straightforward intellectual property claims with a low financial value to be decided without:

• the need for parties to be legally represented
• a lot of pre-hearing preparation
• the formalities of a traditional trial
• the parties putting themselves at risk of anything but very limited costs

IPEC SCT cases are heard by district judges or by deputy district judges. IPEC multi-track cases are heard by enterprise judges or deputy IPEC judges.

Location of the IPEC SCT

IPEC small claims are mainly based at the Manchester Business and Property Court:

Manchester Business and Property Court
Manchester Civil Justice Centre
1 Bridge Street West
Manchester
M60 9DJ

From 3 July 2023, all SCT claims filed in London using the E-Filing service or in person will be transferred to the Manchester Civil Justice Centre for case management and for trial either in person or by video link.

The practice note dated 9 June 2023 issued by His Honour Judge Hacon, the presiding judge of the IPEC, sets out how cases will be dealt with going forward. There will be no change to IPEC SCT claims filed in any of the centres outside London. These will be case managed and trials will be heard at the place of filing unless the cases are transferred elsewhere.

There will be no change to IPEC SCT claims filed before 3 July 2023 and they will be dealt with by district judges of the IPEC sitting at the Thomas More Building in London, unless they are transferred elsewhere.

See the contact details for all the regional IPEC small claims hearing centres

Suitability for the IPEC SCT

Whether a claim is suitable for the IPEC SCT depends mainly on:

• the type of intellectual property rights it relates to
• its value
• the remedies sought

Type of intellectual property rights

The IPEC SCT is only suitable for claims that relate to:

• copyright
• UK registered trade marks, including comparable UK trade marks
• passing off
• UK unregistered design rights, including continuing unregistered designs (CUDs) and supplementary unregistered designs (SUDs)

The IPEC SCT cannot be used for claims relating to certain other intellectual property rights, including:

• patents
• registered designs
• plant varieties

For more information about what types of claims can and cannot be brought on the IPEC SCT, see CPR 63.2(1) and PD 63 paragraph 16.1.

If a claim is not suitable for the IPEC SCT because of the type of intellectual property right it relates to, you may want to consider if it is suitable for the IPEC multi-track or the Patents Court instead. The General IPEC Guide and the Patents Court Guide may assist you in reaching this decision.

A claim relating to a type of intellectual property right which is suitable for the IPEC SCT must also fit within the value limits of the SCT.

Value limits

The IPEC SCT is only suitable for claims where the amount in dispute (not including costs) is £10,000 or less. If the claim has a value of more than £10,000, it is unlikely to be suitable for hearing in the SCT, unless the court orders otherwise.

The IPEC multi-track is suitable for claims with a value above £10,000 but not exceeding £500,000. Higher value claims are usually suitable for the Patents Court.

Before bringing a claim in the IPEC SCT, claimants should also make sure that each of the remedies they seek is available.

Remedies

The IPEC SCT is suitable for claims where the remedies being sought are:

• damages for infringement
• an account of profits
• delivery up or destruction of infringing items
• a final injunction to prevent infringement in the future

Remedies ordered before the final hearing of the claim (known as ‘interim remedies’), such as:

• interim injunctions
• asset freezing orders
• search and seizure orders

are not available on the IPEC SCT. A claim seeking these remedies, which would otherwise be suitable for the IPEC SCT, should be made on the IPEC multi-track instead.

Allocation to the IPEC SCT

The claimant must clearly state in their particulars of claim if they request allocation to the IPEC SCT. It is also helpful to the court if the claimant adds ‘Small Claims Track’ on the front of the claim form. If the claimant does so, the claim will be allocated to the IPEC SCT unless a defendant objects in its defence or the court considers the IPEC multi-track or Patents Court to be more appropriate.

If the claimant does not opt for the SCT but the defendant does, or the claimant opts for the SCT but the defendant objects, the court will send the parties a directions questionnaire. The parties must send the completed questionnaire to the court within the time stated in the questionnaire and serve a copy on all the other parties within 14 days. The court will then allocate the claim to either the SCT or multi-track as appropriate.

The court will consider the value of the claim, the type of intellectual property rights it relates to, the likely complexity and the number of parties and the number of witnesses that may be needed to give oral evidence. A claim where both liability and amounts (‘quantum’) cannot be resolved within one day (including judicial reading time) are usually not suitable for the IPEC SCT. For example, cases concerned with the validity of trade marks (rather than the infringement of a trade mark) are unlikely to be suitable.

Where cases are transferred from one track to another, the costs rules on the original track will apply up to the date of reallocation, and the costs rules on the new track will apply from the date of reallocation onwards.

Legal representation in the IPEC SCT

The IPEC SCT is designed to be used by parties who do not have a legal representative acting for them. It has more simplified procedures than a standard civil claim, hearings are more informal in nature and evidence is not usually taken on oath. If all the parties agree, the court may deal with the claim without a hearing by considering the documents in the case and the written arguments of the parties instead (CPR 27.10). The court will still apply the law and will decide the case based on the evidence the parties have made available.

Each party can choose whether to be legally represented in the IPEC SCT. A party may be represented by a solicitor, barrister, patent attorney or trade mark attorney. Corporate parties may be represented by an officer or employee of the company.

Many parties who are not legally represented choose to bring a friend or family member to hearings. That person may speak for the party or provide moral and practical support.

PD 27 allows a solicitor or barrister to represent their client in their absence. However, this does not happen often since the district judge hearing the case may need the party to give evidence or may have questions to ask the party directly.

There are various sources of free legal advice (also known as ‘pro bono’) available. A good place to start is Citizens Advice or a Law Centre, although some such charities do not provide advice to businesses. There is a Citizens Advice based in the Royal Courts of Justice in London that offers advice and assistance on the procedural aspects of bringing or defending a claim.

Relevant professional organisations such as the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (CITMA), the Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg), or the Law Society may be able to help with specialist intellectual property (IP) advice. IP Pro Bono may be able to give free IP advice.

You can get further information on free legal advice from the National Pro Bono Centre, which houses national clearing houses for legal pro bono work in England and Wales.

Procedure in the SCT

Before issuing proceedings

Claimants in the IPEC SCT should be aware of the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols. This encourages parties to communicate with each other and try to resolve their dispute, or parts of their dispute, before going to court. Compliance with this PD is not a requirement but it does affect the timing for the service of any defence once a claim has been issued (see Time limits for serving documents).

Claimants must state in their particulars of claim whether they have complied with paragraph 6 of the Pre-Action Conduct (CPR 63.20 (2)).

Unjustified threats to bring legal proceedings relating to intellectual property rights can themselves be subject to litigation. Claimants need to make their own decision on whether it is appropriate to contact a prospective defendant to see if matters can be resolved before any proceedings are issued.

If a claimant chooses not to comply with the Pre-Action Conduct, this may be considered against them when the court considers the issue of costs recovery.

Issuing a claim

Claimants should in the first instance issue their claim online using the HMCTS E-Filing service. The guidance on the E-Filing service for citizens and professionals gives instructions on how to do this. The E-Filing service allows for the claim form to be issued and the court fee to be paid. It can also be used to submit further documents on the case or to make an application.

If there is a need to issue a paper claim, parties can post their documents to the Manchester Civil Justice Centre (CJC), or there is a drop box on the ground floor in the CJC (reception desk) that they can use if they want to bring their documents in. There is a High Court counter available, but this is only on an appointment basis and if urgent. The address is:

IPEC (Small Claims)
Business and Property Court
Manchester Civil Justice Centre
1 Bridge Street West
Manchester
M60 9DJ

The claimant should mark the claim form with ‘In the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts in Manchester Intellectual Property List (ChD), Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, Small Claims Track’ in the top right-hand corner.

Court users who have any questions about their claim should contact the Manchester CJC.

Manchester Civil Justice Centre
Email: bpc.manchester@justice.gov.uk
Telephone: 0161 240 5307

Proceedings start with the issue of the claim form, which the court will seal with a court stamp. However, the time for a defendant to file a defence does not start until the claimant serves both a sealed copy of the claim form and the particulars of claim on that defendant. The particulars of claim may be included in the claim form or served separately. For more information, see Time limits for serving documents.

Service of documents

CPR 6 sets out the rules that apply to the service of documents, including the service of the claim form and the particulars of claim. The deadline for a party to take a step in the proceedings is often within a specific number of days after service of a document, for example within 14 days after service of the particulars of claim. To know when a deadline expires, parties need to know the date of service of the document.

The date of service of a document is not necessarily the date the document is actually received. The time limit will start from a ‘deemed date of service’ which is a date determined in accordance with CPR 6. Parties must refer to CPR 6 to check the time limits that apply to them.

Service of the claim

In IPEC SCT cases, it is the claimant’s responsibility to serve each defendant with the claim form together with a response pack and the particulars of claim (at the same time or later). This is not done by the court. The claimant should make sure that they get the defendant’s copy of the claim form (sealed by the court) at the time of issue. The court will give the claimant details of how to get the response pack on issue of the claim.

The service requirements vary depending on the nature of the defendant (for example, individual or company). Claimants should refer to the table at CPR 6.9 to identify the requirements that apply.

The claimant must file a certificate of service of the claim form within 21 days of service of the particulars of claim, unless all the defendants have filed acknowledgments of service within that time (CPR 6.17). A judgment in default under CPR 12 may not be given unless a certificate of service has been filed at court.

Time limits for filing and serving documents

The claimant must serve the claim form on each defendant within 4 months after the date of issue of the claim form, unless it is to be served outside the jurisdiction, when it must be served within 6 months of issue. These are strict time limits.

The claimant must serve the particulars of claim on a defendant either at the same time as the claim form or within 14 days after deemed service of the claim form.

If the defendant does not respond to the particulars of claim, the court may enter default judgment against them.

There are 2 ways for the defendant to respond (see CPR 63.22). The defendant can file and serve a defence, with or without a counterclaim, within 14 days after deemed service of the particulars of claim (unless the particulars of claim have been served out of the jurisdiction, when a longer period may apply).

If the defendant needs more time to produce the defence, or wants to contest the court’s jurisdiction, they must file and serve an acknowledgment of service within 14 days of deemed service of the particulars of claim. The defence and any counterclaim must then be filed and served within:

• 42 days of deemed service of the particulars of claim, if it contains the claimant’s statement of compliance with the Pre-Action Conduct – see Before issuing proceedings
• 70 days of deemed service of the particulars of claim if it does not contain the claimant’s statement of compliance with the Pre-Action Conduct

For further time limits, for example for filing defences to counterclaims and replies, see CPR 63.22.

Parties are not allowed to extend the time limits set out in CPR 63.22 without a prior order from the court and must have a good reason. Parties must make applications for extensions of time before the time expires or as soon as possible afterwards and must set out clearly why they are required.

Contents of particulars of claim, defence and reply to defence

The claimant’s particulars of claim, the defendant’s defence and counterclaim (if any) and any replies of the parties are known as the ‘statements of case’.

Parties must make sure that their statements of case set out their position in full, but they should not be unnecessarily long. They should set out briefly and accurately all the facts and arguments that the party wants to rely on, so that the court and all the other parties understand what issues the court is being asked to decide.

Parties may attach relevant documents to their statements of case, such as documents establishing any copyright or trade marks, or screenshots evidencing the internet publication of a work where breach of copyright is claimed.

All statements of case should be signed with a statement of truth in the following words:

‘[I believe] or [the claimant or defendant believes] that the facts stated in this [name of document being verified] are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes or causes to be made a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.’

The statement of truth should be signed by a person with knowledge of the facts alleged in the statement of case. If no one person has that knowledge, the statement should be signed by those who between them have all the required knowledge (CPR 63.21).

Default judgment

The court does not automatically initiate any step in the proceedings where the defendant fails to acknowledge service or file a defence. If the defendant fails to respond to the claim within the relevant time limits, the claimant may apply to the court to enter default judgment against the defendant for damages to be assessed by the court, by completing and returning Form N227.

If the court is satisfied that the claim form and particulars of claim have been properly served on the defendant, and no acknowledgment of service or defence has been filed, it will usually give judgment for the claimant against the defendant. The court will give directions for damages to be assessed and for other remedies (such as any application for a final injunction) to be considered by the court. The court will send out notification of the hearing and the directions to be complied with beforehand.

The court will not enter default judgment unless the claimant has filed a certificate of service of the claim form, the particulars of claim and the response pack. Unless the certificate confirms that the defendant has been served in the manner and at an address allowed by the rules, judgment will not be entered. Claimants should refer to the table at CPR 6.9 when completing the certificate of service.

Progress of the case once a defence has been filed

After a defence has been filed, the court will send out an order including directions for the management and progress of the case leading up to the trial. These directions will usually be issued without a hearing and will be based on the court’s consideration of the claim, particulars of claim, and defence. In rare cases, the court may set a preliminary hearing for the parties to attend at which an order for directions will be made. Preliminary hearings likely take place remotely by video.

The parties must comply with all orders for directions by the dates specified.

The order for directions will set a timetable for each party to disclose relevant documents to the other parties, and for the evidence of any witnesses to be filed and served. It will include a date for the final hearing of the claim, unless all the parties have agreed that the claim can be decided by the judge without a hearing. In this case, the order will give a date by which a written judgment will be available. The court may make other directions as appropriate.

In a small claim, it is unusual for any party to issue an application seeking an order from the court before the final hearing. However, where an order is required (for example for permission to amend a statement of case), the party should file a formal application using Form N244. Unless the court directs otherwise, it is for the applicant to serve the sealed application on the respondent, who should file with the court and serve on the applicant a response within 5 business days of service. The applicant should file a certificate of service of the application with the court. This allows the court to deal with the application on paper once the deadline for responding has passed, unless a hearing is necessary (see CPR 63.25).

Experts

No expert may give evidence at the final hearing of an IPEC SCT claim, whether written or oral, without the permission of the court. If experts are necessary, the claim is likely to be reallocated to the IPEC multi-track or, rarely, the Patents Court.

Hearings

Some IPEC SCT hearings will take place remotely (usually by video).

Hearings are open to the public, unless the court orders otherwise in exceptional circumstances. All hearings are tape recorded by the court. A party may obtain a transcript of an oral judgment given in a hearing on payment of a fee.

Any party may give the court and the other parties no less than 7 days’ notice that they do not intend to attend the final hearing, and to request that the court decides the claim by considering their statement of case and other documents. CPR 27.9 sets out the effect of giving the required notice and the potential effects of non-attendance without such notice, which may include the court ‘striking out’ that party’s case. This means the court deletes all or part of a statement of case, so that it may no longer be relied on.

At an IPEC SCT final hearing, the judge may use any method of proceeding that they consider to be fair. This may include the judge asking questions of witnesses or limiting cross-examination of witnesses by others.

Court fees

Fees are payable to the court by the claimant when issuing a claim in the IPEC SCT and when the final hearing is fixed. Fees are also payable by a party who issues an application. There may be exemptions available depending on the payer’s financial circumstances.

Find more information on fees

If the hearing fee is not paid by the claimant within the time specified in the notice of hearing, the court will automatically strike out the claim and remove the hearing date from the court list (also known as ‘vacating a hearing’) (see CPR 3.7A1 (7)). If the court strikes out a claim in such circumstances, the claimant will be liable for the costs and expenses the defendant has incurred, as provided for in CPR 27.14 (see Costs recovery).

Small claims mediation and other alternative dispute resolution

Like all civil courts, the IPEC SCT encourages parties to consider the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), as a means of resolving disputes or issues within disputes.

Parties to IPEC SCT cases may use ADR, including the small claims mediation service. It may only be accessed after a claim has been issued. Mediation appointments are conducted by telephone and the parties are not required to attend court or the mediators’ offices. Parties can also mediate through the small claims mediator without speaking to one another.

Mediation appointments:

• only proceed if both parties agree to mediation
• are limited to one hour
• are confidential

If mediation is unsuccessful, the parties will continue to a final hearing of their IPEC small claim as usual.

Contact HMCTS if you would like to arrange a mediation appointment with the small claims mediation service, providing a return telephone number and your case number.

Small claims mediation service
Email: scmreferrals@justice.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 123 4593

You can find further information on alternative forms of ADR in the General IPEC Guide.

Settling or discontinuing a claim

Parties may settle their case by agreement at any time before judgment at the final hearing. A case in the IPEC SCT can be ended before a final judgment either by the parties’ agreement or the discontinuance of the proceedings by the claimant.

If the parties reach a settlement agreement, it is important that they both notify the court as soon as possible.

The court will not vacate the hearing if they receive a letter from only one party. The court will also usually not vacate the hearing unless it is satisfied that the parties have agreed what should happen to the costs of the proceedings.

If the parties would like the terms of their agreement to be recorded in a court order, they will need to request the court to make a ‘consent order’. The benefit of a consent order is that, in the event of one party breaching the agreement, the other party can enforce it in the same way as they can enforce any other order of the court.

Both parties should notify the court:

• that the case has settled
• that the hearing is no longer needed
• if damages are to be paid, what way of settlement has been agreed, which party will be paying, what amount, if in full or in instalments, and any other relevant information
• of what has been agreed about the costs of the parties – this may be an order for one party to pay agreed costs or it may be ‘no order for costs’ (meaning each party is responsible for their own costs)
• of any other terms that the parties have agreed which the court could order (for example, the return or destruction of infringing goods)

Parties can send the court a draft consent order or a letter containing the information, signed by both parties. Alternatively, each party can send the court a signed letter containing the same terms of agreement.

Where the parties wish to agree terms that the court cannot order, or where they wish to settle on agreed terms without a judgment being entered, they may wish to get advice on whether or how to submit a Tomlin order for approval.

A case may also be ended by the claimant discontinuing the claim. Claimants should see CPR 38 for the procedure to follow and particularly note CPR 38.6 – filing a notice of discontinuance has a number of consequences in relation to the costs of the proceedings.

Costs recovery

The general principle that an unsuccessful party will pay the legal costs of a successful party does not apply to IPEC SCT claims.

In the IPEC SCT there are only very limited circumstances in which the court will order one party to contribute to the costs of another (CPR 27.14). The costs include:

• fixed sums in relation to issuing the claim
• court fees, including the hearing fee
• reasonable travel or out-of-home accommodation expenses for a party or witness attending a hearing
• loss of earnings or annual leave of a party or witness for attending a court hearing, limited to £95 per day for each person (PD 27 paragraph 7.3)
• in proceedings that include a claim for an injunction, a sum for legal advice and assistance relating to that claim, not exceeding £260 (PD 27 paragraph 7.2)
• not more than £750 for the fees of any or each expert

Any further costs the court may decide after the hearing may have to be paid by a party who has behaved unreasonably. A party’s rejection of an offer of settlement will not by itself constitute unreasonable behaviour but the court may take it into consideration (CPR 27.14 (3)).

Paying damages and costs

All court-ordered or agreed payments for damages and costs should be paid directly to the receiving party, not the court. The paying party should ask the receiving party for details of where electronic payments or cheques should be sent.

Appeals

An appeal of a decision made by a district judge of the IPEC SCT should be made to an enterprise judge of the IPEC (CPR 63.19(3)).

An appeal can only be made with permission. A party should ask for permission to appeal from the district judge who made the decision at the end of the decision hearing. If that judge refuses permission, or if a party did not ask for permission at the hearing but wants to later, they should apply for permission to appeal to an enterprise judge within 21 days of the date of the decision.

What to expect in your dealings with the court

The impartiality of the court

It is a principle of justice that the court must remain impartial between the parties to a case. For this reason, neither the court staff nor the judges can give legal advice to any party and the court may decline to answer certain queries. For ways that you can obtain free legal advice and assistance, see Legal representation in the IPEC.

Parties must (see CPR39.8) disclose to every other party all communications to the court on matters of substance or procedure – unless the communication is routine, uncontentious or administrative. A request to adjourn should always be copied to the other parties.

In each written communication to the court, you must say who it has been copied to or the reason why it has not been copied. If you fail to comply with your obligations under CPR39.8, the court will return the communication without considering it, unless ordered otherwise. The court may also impose additional sanctions.

If you are relying on information (for example, medical evidence), it will usually be necessary for that information to be provided to the other parties.

HMCTS staff are unable to give guidance on whether a particular communication should be copied to the other parties.

Without prejudice correspondence and other privileged material

You should be particularly careful about sending the court material which is ‘without prejudice’ (meaning the content may only be revealed to the court in very limited circumstances) or otherwise privileged (any material for which a party has the right to refuse to disclose). In the absence of legal advice about your circumstances, you should be cautious about disclosing such material to the court or, if it is not known to them, the other parties.

It is usually not appropriate to send the court details of settlement offers that have not resulted in an agreement to settle. It is often preferable to bring letters containing such offers to the hearing rather than filing them in advance. The district judge dealing with the hearing will then be able to explore with the parties whether it can be relied on.

Correspondence with the court

You should help the court to administer proceedings efficiently by:

• taking care to address your correspondence correctly
• including the correct case number on everything you send to court
• not sending duplicate copies of documents to the court, for example by fax, email and post
• seeking orders and directions from the court by making an application, copied to the other parties, rather than in correspondence
• seeking advice from legal advisors and sources of free legal advice and support rather than from the court
• looking for the answers to your questions about procedure and practice in the CPR, this guide and the General IPEC guide rather than asking the court

The difference between correspondence and applications

Court staff and judges will not usually correspond with a party. There are times when you will have an administrative query for the court but correspondence should generally be restricted to these matters. District judges will not comment on decisions or revise orders because of correspondence, except in very limited circumstances (for example, if the correspondence points out a spelling mistake in an order).

If you want the court to make or amend an order, you must usually issue a formal application using Form N244 and pay the appropriate fee.

Examples where correspondence is insufficient are:

• requests for the adjournment of a hearing
• requests that the other parties be required to take a step in the proceedings (for example, to comply with the court’s timetable of directions)
• if you wish to challenge a decision that has been made

Most applications are ‘on notice’. This means that once you have issued your application with the court, you will have to serve a copy of the application notice and any supporting evidence on the other parties. You should file a certificate of service with the court to confirm how and when you served it.

If you are served with an application by another party, you should write to the court within 5 days of the date of service with your response. You should also send this to the other parties. If possible, the court will determine the application without a hearing.

You should also not explain your case to the court in correspondence. You should do this formally by particulars of claim or defence and witness statements.

Following the court’s orders and timetable

This is one of the best ways to put your case before the court effectively. You should not assume that you will be able to rely on documents that are filed late.

If the court directs you to file a document, you must usually also send a copy to the other parties. It is important that you do this without delay.

If you are unable to comply with the court’s directions, you should make a formal application to the court for a change in the timetable. The court is more likely to grant an extension of a deadline if you issue your application before the original deadline expires.

Contact details for the IPEC SCT

You can send enquiries relating to an IPEC SCT claim to:

Birmingham: bpc.birmingham@justice.gov.uk
Bristol: bristolspecialist@justice.gov.uk
Cardiff: bpc.cardiff@justice.gov.uk
Leeds: bpc.leeds@justice.gov.uk
Liverpool: LiverpoolBPC@justice.gov.uk
London: IPECsmallclaimstrack@justice.gov.uk
Manchester: bpc.manchester@justice.gov.uk
Newcastle: NewcastleBPC@justice.gov.uk

The district judges (DJ) for the Business and Property Courts (BPC) are:

Birmingham:
DJ Talog-Davies

Bristol:
DJ Woodburn

Leeds:
DJ Prest KC

Liverpool:
DJ Deane
DJ Johnson

London:
DJ Hart
DJ Mauger
DJ Revere
DJ Wilkinson

Manchester:
DJ Obodai
DJ Ranson
DJ Woodward

Newcastle:
DJ Malik
DJ Phillips

Wales:
DJ Jarman
DJ Keyser

Court staff cannot give legal advice or enter into prolonged correspondence. See information about copying other parties into emails or correspondence sent to the court in What to expect in your dealings with the court.

Intellectual Property Enterprise Court Users Committee

The secretary to the IPEC Users Committee is:

Luke Maunder
Bristows
100 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y ODH
Email: Luke.Maunder@bristows.com
Telephone: 0207 400 8000