Video tapes exhibited in evidence in inter partes proceedings before the Registrar

It has been the Registrar's practice to accept that video tape material exhibited in evidence before him need only be supplied to the Trade Marks Registry, the other party (or parties) to the proceedings being asked to arrange to view the material (if they wished) at a date and time convenient to them at the premises of the Trade Marks Registry. In the case of practitioners and parties who are not in close proximity to the Trade Marks Registry's offices in London or Newport this has been a matter of some inconvenience.

Increasingly, the contents of video tape material is of importance in proceedings and it is important, therefore, that the other party (or parties) is in a position to view the content of the video taped material and ascertain its relevance to the proceedings. As it is now technologically much easier than hitherto to copy video tapes, the Registrar has determined and directs that where a party in inter partes proceedings exhibits material in the form of a video tape then that video tape must be copied to the other party (or parties) with, and at the same time as, the evidence in relation to which it is being exhibited. Practitioners will note that Section 45(1) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1998 allows for copying in relation to parliamentary and judicial proceedings.

In addition, whenever information in electronic/magnetic/encoded form is exhibited to evidence filed in inter partes proceedings (as well as that held on video tape) it will be the Registrar's practice to require the copying of the material, for example on disc, to the other side.

Unless therefore there are exceptional reasons for not doing so then parties to proceedings must provide the other side with copies of all evidence and exhibits where information is filed in electronic form.