Statement of grounds

When filing proceedings with us a statement of grounds must be filed. This statement is very important to the case. When writing a statement of grounds the following details must be included:

• what the dispute is about and what grounds are being relied upon
• the facts of the case, which will usually need to be supported with evidence at a later date
• what you want us to do
• it would also be useful to give us an idea of whether you want costs awarded

If the statement of grounds does not contain enough information, we may ask you to clarify it, so that we can continue with the proceedings.

Statement of truth

The accuracy and truth of all the information contained in the statement must be confirmed by adding the following declaration of truth at the end:

'I confirm that the information contained in this statement is true to the best of my knowledge and belief'.

If the statement of grounds is found to be incorrect or untrue, and a good explanation for this is not provided, we may take this into consideration when making the final decision or when awarding costs.

The statement of grounds must be signed and dated, and 2 copies must be sent to us at:

Intellectual Property Office
Concept House
Cardiff Road
Newport
South Wales
NP10 8QQ
United Kingdom

What happens next?

Before we consider the case, we will send a copy of the statement of grounds to anyone we believe may have an interest in the case, to allow them to answer with a counter statement.