Certificate of contested validity
Encyclopedia
In United Kingdom
patent law
, a certificate of contested validity is an order usually made by the Patents Court (a division of the High Court) or Patents County Court
after a patent infringement
action in which the validity
of the patent
is unsuccessfully challenged.
Section 65 of the UK Patents Act 1977 allows the Court to make such an order. If the patent is enforced again against another infringer, and the validity of the patent is unsuccessfully challenged again, the second infringer is penalised by way of an award of indemnity costs
- i.e. legal costs above the usual scale and closer to the actual costs incurred by the patentee in defending the challenge.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
patent law
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
, a certificate of contested validity is an order usually made by the Patents Court (a division of the High Court) or Patents County Court
Patents County Court
In the legal system of Courts of England and Wales, the Patents County Court in London is an alternative venue to the Patents Court of the High Court for bringing legal cases involving certain matters concerning patents, registered designs and, more recently, trade marks, including Community trade...
after a patent infringement
Patent infringement
Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may vary by jurisdiction, but it typically includes using or...
action in which the validity
Patentability
Within the context of a national or multilateral body of law, an invention is patentable if it meets the relevant legal conditions to be granted a patent...
of the patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
is unsuccessfully challenged.
Section 65 of the UK Patents Act 1977 allows the Court to make such an order. If the patent is enforced again against another infringer, and the validity of the patent is unsuccessfully challenged again, the second infringer is penalised by way of an award of indemnity costs
Law of costs
Costs is a term of art in civil litigation in English law , and in other Commonwealth jurisdictions. After judgment has been given, the judge has the power to order who will pay the lawyers' fees and other disbursements of the parties...
- i.e. legal costs above the usual scale and closer to the actual costs incurred by the patentee in defending the challenge.