New Irish High Court Intellectual Property And Technology List

In October 2020, the report of the Review of the Administration of Civil Justice Group was published. One of Its recommendations was to establish a dedicated list to hear intellectual property ("IP") and technology disputes and that appropriate resources be made available to ensure that the Irish courts remain an attractive forum for resolving these disputes.

This has now been implemented by the Rules of the Superior Courts (Intellectual Property Proceedings) 2021¹ ("new Rules") which came into force on 22 October 2021 and apply to proceedings commenced after that date.

The new Rules amend Orders 63A and 94 of the Rules of the Superior Courts ("RSC") and set up a new dedicated IP and Technology List as a sub-division of the existing Commercial List of the High Court. A specialist judge will be appointed by the President of the High Court to manage these disputes.