The Attorney General has traditionally appointed a member of the Intellectual Property Bar to provide the Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks with advice when required, and to act for her in proceedings before the higher courts and the European Court of Justice. With the term of the existing appointment due to expire the Attorney General is looking to refill the post at the end of 2008, with the following practice:
- Two appointments will be made, and the work will be split roughly equally between the two;
- Appointments will be for an initial period of two years, with the possibility of an extension up to a further five years at the discretion of the Attorney General;
- Advocates will be invited to apply for appointment in an open competition.
The appointments are open to both barristers with a tenancy and solicitors with a higher court advocacy qualification. Although most of the work will come from the Comptroller, advocates may occasionally be asked to advise or act for other government departments on intellectual property matters. However, the appointments carry no guarantee of the amount of work that will be available.
