Ex parte design hearings statistics for 2017-2023
Published 18 December 2024
© Crown copyright 2024
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ex-parte-design-hearings-statistics-for-2017-2023/ex-parte-design-hearings-statistics-for-2017-2023
Date of release:
14 August 2023.
Information request:
Please could you provide the number of ex-parte design hearings which were conducted by the IPO, each year, in each of the past 7 years (e.g. in each 1 January to 31 December annual period, for the past 7 years)?
For each of these year periods as well, please could you advise the number of these hearings which resulted in a design registration being awarded (i.e. the number which were successful for the Applicant), and the number which resulted in no design registration being awarded (i.e. the number of hearings which were unsuccessful for the Applicant)?
Please can you also advise if any of these ex-parte design hearings were Appealed to the Appointed Person, and if so how many were?
Please can you also advise if any of these ex-parte design hearings were Appealed to the High Court, and if so how many were?
Information released:
The figures we hold for each year are as follows:
- 2017 – 10
- 2018 – 3
- 2020 – 7
- 2021 – 21
- 2022 - 24
- 2023 - 18
Please note that these figures have been compiled from paper records logged by various individuals and while we expect them to be accurate we cannot verify that to be absolutely the case.
With regards to outcomes, the IPO does not record the ultimate outcomes of such cases. While we do record the numbers of hearings, they are not entered into a common electronic system which we would be able to interrogate to provide meaningful data for those outcomes. The other reason for our not collecting this information is there are too many variables we would have to take into account. For example, a ‘successful’ hearing outcome for a case may be arrived at eventually following agreement to add limitations, etc. By means of such negotiations the IPO probably (though anecdotally) eventually accepts more applications subject to ex-parte hearings than it refuses.
The only way of answering this question definitively would be to examine each case file individually and in detail to trace the progress of every case. We estimate the work involved in doing so would exceed the appropriate (cost) limit set under s.12 of the FOI Act of £600, equivalent to 24 - hours of work. For that reason this part of your FOI request will not be processed further.
In answer to your final two questions, none of these ex-parte design hearings were appealed to the Appointed Person nor to the High Court.