More countries should set up specialised intellectual property (IP) courts to improve enforcement of rights, the International Bar Association's intellectual property and entertainment committee has said.

Publishing the results of a survey of courts and judges in 78 jurisdictions, the committee called for increased specialisation of judges and for comprehensive training to improve the administration of justice.


Other proposals for action included public education campaigns to highlight the importance of IP rights and to help raise awareness among their owners of how to manage and enforce them.


Westmacott: court warning

'Since specialised courts will give judges the chance to deal mainly or exclusively with IP disputes, they will create the opportunity to strengthen expert knowledge and, consequently, will shorten the length of the court's procedure,' the report said.

According to the survey, England and Wales is one of only three jurisdictions to have developed specialised courts that hear only IP cases - the others are in Thailand and Turkey.


Robert Williams, an intellectual property partner at City firm Bird & Bird, said the credibility of the courts when dealing with IP cases is key.


'If a country has specialist IP courts staffed by experienced judges, this will generally boost user confidence, which is critical,' he said.


The IP committee's survey also reported on proposals to set up a Europe-wide IP court in Luxembourg, operating under the auspices of the European Court of Justice.


But Philip Westmacott, head of intellectual property at City firm Bristows, warned that there might be difficulties with establishing such a court. He said: 'The danger of doing it centrally in Europe is that inevitably there is a risk that, in the attempt to be democratic, you may not get the best court and the best judges.'