Today we have published two consultations:
- removing the current restrictions on in-house patent and trade mark attorneys providing pro bono advice. We are also proposing changes to allow attorneys who are not actively practising to provide pro bono advice. In both cases, provision of pro bono advice would require the consumer protection measures (e.g. professional indemnity insurance (PII), continuing professional development (CPD) and complaint handling) set out in IPReg’s regulatory arrangements to be in place; and
- making explicit on the face of IPReg’s regulatory arrangements the requirement to put in place professional indemnity insurance run-off cover when a firm closes (if there is no successor practice that has assumed all its liabilities) to ensure that former clients of the firm remain protected by PII. The consultation also asks whether there should be a requirement for firms to make information about their PII insurer available to clients and, if so, the best way of doing this. It also proposes to make explicit the requirement to provide IPReg with information about PII on request.
Please follow this link to see the consultations which both close on 9 October.