Consultation on UPC rights of audience: it's time for a discussion

With apologies to IPKat readers for the cross-posted subject matter (see the first item on today's Wednesday Whimsies, here), there's a storm brewing in the United Kingdom over who will have rights of audience before the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and what sort of training they will have to be put through if, despite their professional training and expertise, they are not technically "lawyers".

Following Darren Smyth's post yesterday on this subject on the current consultations, we learn from Vicki Salmon that

The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) and the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO are holding a joint seminar to discuss this consultation on Wednesday 2 July 2014, in CIPA Hall. Registration begins at 4.30 in anticipation of a 5 pm start, with drinks and networking provisionally to start at 6.30 pm. There will be no charge. Although this has been planned for a while, it could not be advertised until the new draft was published and the consultation open -- so apologies for the short notice. The event will be recorded and that will be made available afterwards to those who could not attend.

The panel will include Mr Justice Birss and a representative from the IPO. Vicki Salmon will be chairing. To book your place, click here.

This blogger wonders the current consultation on rights of audience before the UPC is being discussed in other jurisdictions within the EU and, if so, how they are shaping up.  Does anyone know?

Rights of audience in England and Wales: when will the new rules come into force?

Patent attorney David Harris (Barker Brettell LLP, Birmingham, England) notes that the Legal Standards Board has approved the draft changes made by the Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg) to the rules concerning the rights of audience which patent attorneys and trade mark attorneys have before various courts (see the top entry listed here).  He comments:

"As such, most attorneys on either register will have rights of audience for all IP matters in the Patents County Court, rather than patent attorneys only having rights for patents and designs (but not copyright), and trade mark attorneys not having any rights by default, as at present. We also get a handful of mildly interesting ancillary rights". 

But what we all want to know is whether when these new rules might be brought into force. If any reader of this weblog has a clue, will he or she please post the answer below.