For the whole decision click here: o16103
Result
Costs awarded to the applicant in accordance with the Registrar’s scale of costs.
Points Of Interest
Summary
In the substantive proceedings (see BL O/101/03) the applicant had succeeded under Section 5(4)(b). The Hearing Officer, at the request of counsel, had reserved a decision on costs, which was to be the subject of later written submissions.
The applicant asked for actual costs, substantially above that which would normally be awarded from the Registrar’s scale; the contention being that the registered proprietor should have conceded the copyright point at a much earlier stage.
The registered proprietor however submitted that the statement of grounds was insufficiently particularised and his legal advisors had been put to extra costs in discerning its meaning. Moreover, the applicant had been successful on only one of several grounds.
Having reviewed the matter, the Hearing Officer saw nothing in the conduct of the proceedings that would justify an exceptional award and he awarded costs to the applicant from the Registrar’s scale.