Düsseldorf, May 24, 2016 – The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has published a study on specialized courts for intellectual property rights and copyrights (IP courts). With the study by the name of “Adjudicating Intellectual Property Disputes”, companies are given valuable information on the current legal situation, and governments are provided with suggestions on how to establish their own systems in the area of intellectual property rights.
IP courts have exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising in the area of intellectual property rights. They exist as specialised, independent courts or as divisions or chambers within the framework of civil courts or authorities. In an international comparison, the existing IP courts differ in terms of structure, competence and composition. Furthermore, they often work according to their own procedural regulations and rules of party representation. In its report, the ICC presents IP courts in a total of 19 countries and makes transparent the respective differences. With the help of overviews, the reader is given insights into the way the individual courts function. Among other things, the applied principles of law and rules of evidence are examined, as well as the role of technical judges and issues regarding the enforcement of judgments.
“Awareness for the protection of intellectual property rights has increased around the world. This is also underlined by the increased number of IP courts. They promote expertise in the field of intellectual property rights, improve the efficiency of decisions and create more legal certainty for innovative companies”, explains Mathias Karlhuber, ICC Patent Rapporteur and Partner at Cohausz & Florack. He is co-chairman of the working group entrusted with the study, which consists of lawyers, patent attorneys, company solicitors and other experienced IP experts.
The ICC study “Adjudicating Intellectual Property Disputes“ is available for download at the ICC website.
