Bridging Wales and London

The Shard

Author Mariordo Licence CC BY-SA 3,0 Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

In Wales Week, London, I described the events that take place in the days leading up to and just after St David's Day as London's contribution to an annual worldwide festival of Wales.  This year's Wales Week, London promises to be the best ever.  One of those events was Bridging Wales and London hosted by M-SParc (the Menai Science Park) in conjunction with the Foresight Group and Menter Môn.

The event took place on the 23rd floor of the Shard between 16:00 and 18:00 on 25 Feb 2026.  According to Wikipedia, the building is 1,015 feet high.  In pre-metric times, it would have qualified as an artificial mountain.  A mountain was defined as an elevation over 1,000 feet.   A tower was constructed on Leith Hill in 1765 expressly to convert the 965-foot mound into Surrey's only mountain.   

Entering the building was like boarding an aircraft.   Visitors were asked for photo ID.  Possessions were screened by a metal detector.  Lifts were summoned by keying in the number of the destination floor on one of several screens at the lift entrance that resembled iPads.  On exiting the lift, the view was spectacular.  I jested with one of the speakers that, on a clear day, it ought to be possible to see Calais.  

At the entrance to the room where the event was to take place, I was greeted by M-SParc's managing director, Pryderi ap Rhisiart, who conducted me to a front row seat and offered me refreshments.  Among the first to arrive was Anna McMorrin, MP for Cardiff and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Wales Office.  I opined that the programme for this year's Wales Week, London, was the best ever, but ventured that it was somewhat London-centric.  There are many Welsh exiles in the rest of England, including my MP, keen to promote links between their birthplace and current home.  It is no coincidence that our region, which was once part of the possibly Welsh and certainly Brythonic speaking Kingdom of Elmet, has a lot in common with Wales, including hills, choirs and non-conformity   

Just after 16:00, Pryderi called the meeting to order and introduced Anna McMorrin MP as the keynote speaker.  She spoke about all the good things to be found in Wales, from its glorious mountains in the North to its magnificent coastal scenery.  Having established herself in London, she remembered her colleagues' surprise when she announced her return to Wales. "But we know better", she said to her audience with a smile.  There are now plenty of incentives to open a business in Wales.

Those incentives were explored in the first panel session by Johan Dyer of Buildboss, Dan Parry Evans of Vedri Virtual Production Studio, Dr Huw Vaughan Jones and Lisa Storey Evans of Cook Street Consulting.  In the Q&A, I observed that founders and business owners need the arts as well as outstanding scenery, business support and other incentives.  The Pontio Centre in Bangor, with its theatre, cinema, exhibition space and FabLab, meets those needs.

Another panel discussion, chaired by Kelly Davies of the Cymru Football Foundation, discussed sport, another important aspect of life.  The panellists were Iwan Pritchard of Pelly, Tristian Griffiths of Your Empowered Mindset and Neil Thomas of Brandified.  In the audience was a member of the English women's football team whom Kelly introduced at the end of the last session.   I met Kelly again on the tube later that evening.  She was going to Euston to catch a train to North Wales, while I was on my way to King's Cross for my connection to Doncaster.  I told her that the theme of this year's World Intellectual Property Day was  IP and Sports, which I discussed in World IP Day 2026 - IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate! on 28 Dec 2025 in NIPC News.   She expressed considerable interest in the topic.

A lot was crammed into the two-hour event.   In addition to the talks and panel discussions that I have already mentioned, the Foresight Group spoke about the equity investments that it had made on behalf of the Investment Fund for Wales. David Wylie outlined Menter Môn's plans to promote Welsh food and drink.  I renewed many acquaintances that I had already made at M-SParc and made many more with UK and Welsh government civil servants, investors, entrepreneurs and business advisors.  The event was well worth the long journey on the first warm day of the year.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during normal office hours or send me a message through my contact form at any time.

St David's Day Celebration at the Guildhall

 

Jane Lambert

One of the highlights of Wales Week London is the annual St David's Day dinner at the Guildhall. No greater pleasure or honour can be offered to a friend of Wales than an invitation to that event.  My invitation came from Pryderi ap Phisiart, Managing Director of the Menai Science Park ("M-SParc"),  for which  I am very grateful.

From time to time I am asked about my connection with Wales.  I cannot claim Welsh birth, kin, domicile or even education but I have enormous affection for the land and its people.  Having been born not far from the border I have visited Wales several times a year almost every year of my life.  The regions that I know best are the North West and South East.  I have watched with concern the decline of the staple industries in both regions.  Many of Wales's best and brightest young men and women who have been educated to a high level in those regions' excellent secondary schools have left their country to find work or continue their education and have never returned.

There are two institutions in particular that are helping to arrest and reverse that decline albeit in very different ways.  In the North West, M-SParc opened for business on 1 March 2018.  It provides space and support for new knowledge-based businesses on its own site and catalyzes enterprises throughout the region.  In the South East, Darius James set up a classical dance company not in Cardiff but in his birthplace, Newport.  The company brings an art form that began in the courts of kings and emperors, developed in the world's leading opera houses and is still associated with major cities to communities throughout Wales.  Not only does the company entertain audiences in those communities it also trains their young people.  In some cases,  Ballet Cymru's training ignites an ambition that leads talented kids into careers in dance and other performing arts. I champion both of those institutions and assist them in any and every way I can.  They are my connection with Wales.  

The St David's Day celebrations at the Guildhall began with preprandial drinks in the Old Library, continued with dinner in the Great Hall and ended for some with postprandial libations and community singing at The Trading House on Gresham Street.  

Before dinner, I met some distinguished fellow guests including a former law officer of the Turks and Caicos Islands and Bermuda, a leading South Wales fashion designer, a teacher of fashion design at the University of the Creative Arts in Epsom, a partner of a leading law firm and several angel and private equity investors.  As they came from  Cardiff,  Carmarthenshire, Glamorgan, Gwent and Pembrokeshire I told them about M-SParc and its work in the North West. I  encouraged them to participate in M-SParc's World IP and Wales Enterprise Day celebrations.   Since Ballet Cymru's studios in Rogerstone are close to many of them I mentioned the company's inclusive classes and performances at the magnificent Riverfront Theatre,

M-SParc had two tables in the Great Hall.  Pryderi presided over one and Gwenllian Owen, the science park commercialization and information officer, over the other.  Guests on my table included investors and mentors, M-SParc employees and other friends of the science park.  I sat between the investment manager of the Investment Fund for Wales and the Investment Partner of the Clean Growth Fund.  Dinner consisted of a fish starter, lamb main course, dessert, cheese and coffee accompanied by excellent wines.   

We were welcomed to dinner by the President, Peter Evans.  Grace was said by the Rev Robert Nicholls of the Welsh Church of Central London, A toast in memory of St David was proposed by the psychologist and TV journalist and presenter Dr Sian Williams.  The keynote speech was given by Lord Wigley of Caernarfon who spoke on the centuries-old relationship between Wales and London.  He celebrated the enormous contribution that Welsh émigrés had made to the City's financial services industry over the years mentioning a time when 3 of the leaders of the 8 largest insurance companies in the United Kingdom were Welsh speakers.   The "Welsh diaspora" in London and other big cities in the UK and around the world was an important connection for those who remained in Wales.  I had heard him speak on a similar theme at a reception in the House of Lords last September (see Reflections on Wales Innovation Week in London 20 Sept 2023).

Two highlights of the dinner were the presentation of the Community Foundation Wales award to an impressive young man whom I met briefly at the Trading House and the singing by the Côr Llundain.  I live near Huddersfield which has its own grerat choir.  We like to believe that our Choral is second to none.  Having heard Côr Llundain's O Gymru, Migldi Magldi, Dana Dana and Gwinllan A Roddwyd I have to say that Huddersfield has serious competition from London. Just before the end of the meal the choir led the hall in singing Cofian Gwlad and Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.

Much of the choir'smusic was new to me but I knew Migldi Magldi from Cerys Matthews's Tir.  Ms Matthews is one of the patrons of Ballet Cymru and Darius James and Amy Doughty have choreographed a most beautiful ballet to her music which they performed recently at the Pontio Centre.

Singing continued at the Trading House until the early hours of the morning though the repetoire was more varied in that it ranged from Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer to Tom Jones's Delilah.   It included my favourite Welsh song, Calon Lân, which never fails to moisten my eyes.  Especially as I now know enough Welsh to follow the lyrics.  Networking also continued until well into Saturday.

The main sponsor of the event was the computer security specialists Pure Cyber.  The wealth management company RBC Brewin Dolphin sponsored the choir.  Amgueddfa Cymru, Bethan Jones Boutique, Swansea University, the Welsh Government and several other businesses, institutions and individuals also contributed to the event.   As the late Queen said at the end of her last speech to the Senedd, diolch o galon to each and every one of those who facilitated the event.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during normal business houers or send me a message through my contact page at all other times.

Wales Week London

Satellite Image of Wales
Author NSA, USA Copyright Public Domain Source Wikimedia

Jane Lambert 

Wales Week London is London's contribution to an annual worldwide festival of Wales.  According to its website, it consists of 602 events at 110 venues in 22 countries with 66,000 attendees reaching 10.8 million people.  In the rest of the UK, Wales Week events are taking place in Berkshire and Newcastle upon Tyne.  Elsewhere there are events in Australia, Canada, France, Hungary, the Irish Republic, Japan, Thailand, the USA and even the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Although called "Wales Week" the festival's events in London stretch from a Festival of Welsh Music on 16 Feb 2024 to the St David's Day walk on 9 March 2024.  They cover the arts, crafts, entertainment, food and sport as well as business, industry and tech.  

There are 37 events in this last category which include diplomatic receptions at the Canadian High Commission and the Hungarian, Swiss and US embassies, a dinner at the Guildhall to celebrate St David's Day, discussions on artificial intelligence, biotech, energy, legal tech, manufacturing, net zero, sport, transport and receptions, exhibitions and other events to promote innovation and investment,  Some of those events are invitation only but many are open to anybody and in most cases admission is free.

A curious omission given the Intellectual Property Office is headquartered in Wales and has an office in London is the absence of any event specifically on intellectual property.  It will of course be central to many of the discussions.  It would be hard to talk about branding without mentioning trade marks and passing off or to discuss inventions without referring to patents, design rights or trade secrecy. 

All that may change for next year because |I am willing to organize one or more intellectual property events either alone or in conjunction with any other like-minded individuals or organizations to be held possibly at my chambers at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square or some other central London location.  What I have in mind is a seminar on topics likely to be useful to entrepreneurs, inventors and business angels along the lines of the World IP Day and Wales Enterprise Day sessions that I help Emily Roberts to run at the Menai Science Park and maybe a walk-in IP clinic.

Holding events for Welsh Week is encouraged and an event organizer's toolkit  can be downloaded from the Wales Week London website,

Anybody wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact page, 

M-SParc is coming to London - Mae M-SParc yn dod i Lundain

London Welsh Centre

Author London Welsh Centre Licence CC BY-SA 3.0 Source Wikimedia Commons

 

Jane Lambert

I discovered M-SParc ("the Menai Science Park") while on holiday in Beaumaris just a few months after it opened (see M-SParc - Anglesey's Science Park 28 Aug 2018 NIPC News).  As I was born not far from the Anglo-Welsh border I have been coming to Northwest Wales since I was a babe in arms.  I acknowledge that is not the same as coming from there but it is enough to form a deep attachment for the region and its people.  For most of the time that I have visited the region, I have seen its industries decline and population diminish. I understood the science park's significance as soon as I saw it.   This was an initiative to arrest and reverse that decline.

Having set up clinics and inventors' clubs throughout the North of England, I have developed skills, knowledge and connections to assist start-ups and other small businesses.  I called the science park immediately after the bank holiday and offered my services as an intellectual property lawyer.  I was invited to attend the forthcoming Anglesey Business Show which I did.  I described the event in Anglesey and the Fourth Industrial Revolution on 12 Oct 2018 (NIPC Northwest).  Since then I have enjoyed participating in many events at M-SParc and have even contributed to a few.  Those events continued online right through the pandemic and they greatly strengthened my attachment to the science park and its hinterland  (see Delivering on my Promises to Wales  26 March 2020).

M-SParc does not confine its activities to its site at Gaerwen.  It holds regular events throughout North Wales and beyond (see the On Tour page of the M-SParc website).  It targets not just entrepreneurs and business owners but also students at the excellent secondary and primary schools and colleges of the region (see STEM and Skills).  One of its most commendable initiatives is Clwb Sparci which the website describes as "a unique Welsh language STEM club that offers a range of exciting activities each month, to inspire children of all ages."  Its activities range "from coding workshops and robotics classes to science experiments and maker sessions".  For younger students, there is the Miwtini Bach while older ones can train at the Skills Academy.

Between 9 and 14 Sept 2023 M-SParc will be in London (see M-SPar #ArYLonDon).  Appropriately it will start with a coding workshop for 6 to 11-year-olds delivered by Clwb Sparci at the London Welsh Centre between 10:00 and 12:00 on 9 Sep.  Sadly, my little grandson manqué, Vlad, who codes and is looking forward to his first trip to Nant Gwrtheyrn and accompanying me up Yr Wyddfa on foot is just a little bit too old for the class.   Apparently, the class will focus on Welsh idioms.   If the weather is anything like today's a useful start might be "Mae'n bwrw hen wragedd a ffyn" which is more or less as ridiculous as "raining cats and dogs". The class will be repeated online to kids from around the world in the afternoon.

Clwb Sparci will also deliver a class on energy on Monday, 11 Sep to the London Welsh School. The school serves the children of the substantial Welsh community in London many of whose members speak Cymraeg as a first language or fluently as an acquired language.  The London Welsh Centre teaches the language at its premises and online and holds regular conversation classes. I attended one of the Centre's online courses during the lockdown and found it much more rigorous than those provided by Nant Gwrtheyrn, Popeth Cymraeg or Say Something in Welsh.  It is also possible to learn Cymraeg to an advanced level at the City Lit in Covent Garden.  The main event for the Welsh community in London is Wales Week which takes place every year around St David's Day.

Turning back to M-SParc's visit, the high point of the week is likely to be the "Wales Igniting Innovation" exhibition and seminar at the House of Lords which also takes place on 11 Sept.  Speakers will include Lord Wigley, David Davies MP, Secretary of State for Wales, Prof Jas Pal Badyal, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Welsh Government and Dame Ottoline Leyser of the UKRI.  Exhibitors will include AberInnovation, Cardiff Univeristy's Sbarc/Spark and Tramshed Tech as well as M-SParc.  This event is by invitation only and is fully subscribed.  However, there may be a waiting list as there is also an invitation to contact lois@m-sparc.com to declare an interest in participating in the event.

All the events of the last are days are open to the public.  "Digital Wales" which takes place at the Welsh Government's London office at 25 Victoria Street, on  Tuesday 12 Sept 2023 will showcase "companies, projects and innovation with digital at their heart and Wales at the forefront."  Topics under discussion include agri-tech, creative tech, decarbonization tech, fintech, government tech, language tech and tourism tech.  An audience of alumni, civil servants, investors, politicians and potential returners to Wales is expected,

"Wales: Trade and Invest" which takes place on 13 Sept will showcase Wales as a location for international trade and inward investment.   There will be discussions on the Welsh Government's Freeport Programme which will include a discussion of the Anglesey Freeport to which M-SParc is contributing (see Emily Roberts Wales Freeport Status secured for Anglesey 23 March 2023 M-SParc website).  Other forms of business support will also be discussed by the Invest in Wales panel.

Between 10:00 and 14:00 on Thursday 14 Sept 2023, EGNI will host an exhibition and seminar on renewable energy resources in North Wales.  These will include solar, tidal, wind and nuclear power generation as well as hydrogen for transportation and heating. I attended the EGNI 2023 conference at M-SParc in May and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The last event will be "Connect to London" to be presented by Global Welsh. It will take place at the offices of the Four Agency on the Whitechapel Road between 18:00 and 21:00 on 14 Sept 2023. The advertised programme includes an introduction from Nan Williams, Global Welsh's Chair, speeches by Jamie O'Hara who is described as the "Hub Lead" and a keynote speaker who is yet to be announced in conversation with Warren East of Rolls Royce and ARM Holdings. There will also be pitches from Welsh entrepreneurs, networking and food, Unlike most of the events which require registration on the Google form attached to the Welsh Innovation #OnTour page, the Global Welsh event requires registration on its "Connect to London" form,

On the "Welsh Innovation #OnTour" page there are four coloured hexagons each of which contains a different slogan. The slogan in the orange hexagon is "Showcase the best of Welsh Innovation in London!" The slogan in the light blue hexagon is "Creating valuable connections!"  The one in the green is "Raising investment!"  The last one is "Attract Inward Investment into Wales".  I have registered for the "Digital Wales" event and I will support the initiative in any way I can.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article can call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 or send me a message through my contact page.

A Judicial Super Highway for North Wales

Author Dave Smethurst Licence CC BY-SA 2.0 Source Wikimedia Commons 

 

Jane Lambert

According to the updated guidance from the Department for Levelling Up, freeports are intended to attract external investment and stimulate innovation.  If the recently announced Anglesey Freeport achieves those objectives there will be a need for a cost-effective local forum for the resolution of business disputes.  Parties from that area now have the choice of litigating in London, Liverpool, Cardiff or possibly Mold which adds substantially to their costs.  The obvious solution is to extend para 1.1 of Practice Direction 57AA to the Caernarfon District Registry and the County Court at Caernarfon.

CPR57A and Practice Direction 57AA establish the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales.  These are the Royal Courts of Justice in London and the Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle District Registries and County Court hearing centres.  When they were first launched in 2017 the Chancellor referred to the Business and Property as a "judicial super highway" (see my article Launch of a Jusicial Super Highway  12 July 2017 IP Northwest).

The Business and Property Courts undertake the following work:

• the Admiralty Court, 
• the Business List, 
• the Commercial Court, 
• the Circuit Commercial Courts, 
• the Competition List, 
• the Financial List, 
• the Insolvency and Companies List, 
• the Intellectual Property List, 
• the Property, Trusts and Probate List, 
• the Revenue List, and 
• the Technology and Construction Court.

The County Court in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Preston also do all the work that falls under the jurisdiction of the courts and lists that make up the Business and Property Courts with a number of exceptions.

Caernarfon already has a Chancery District Registry which means that an intellectual property claim other than one concerning patents, registered designs, plant varieties, semiconductor topographies and trade marks could be issued out of the District Registry and County Court there.  In practice, any County Court claim would almost certainly be transferred to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court in London ("IPEC"). It appears from the Circuit Commercial Courts in Wales page of the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website that the Circuit Commercial Court in Mold is part of the Business and Property Courts in Wales. Applications for interim injunctions in an IP case issued out of Caernarfon could therefore in theory be made to Judge Keyser KC or Judge Jarman KC sitting in Mold.   According to para 1.2 of the Intellectual Property Court Guide, small IP claims can be heard in Cardiff as well as Liverpool and London but not in North Wales.

The option for Welsh litigants of bringing their claims in Liverpool, London or elsewhere in England would cease were Wales to establish a separate court system (see my article "A Separate Welsh Legal Jurisdiction"  of 20 Feb 2021). In the eventuality, it would be imperative for the Caernarfon District Registry to become part of the Business and Property Courts in Wales and perhaps other Business and Property Court District Registries to be established in central and southwest Wales. As the Senedd  Cymru can now make primary legislation for Wales, the argument in favour of establishing a separate Welsh court system is likely to strengthen.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article may call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact page.

An Inventors' Club for Northwest Wales?

Jane Lambert

"Ffiws" means, and is pronounced as, "Fuse" in English.  It is the name of a maker space with 3D printers, laser cutters and other digitally controlled equipment.  It is a partnership between Menter Môn, Gwynedd Council and several other agencies in North Wales.  Earlier this year I was invited to give a talk at its premises in Porthmadog.  Sadly, the visit had to be cancelled because of the pandemic but I still delivered the talk over Zoom and my slides can be downloaded from Slideshare if anyone is interested.

I think Ffiws is a great resource and the reason I mention it again now is that it has a base at the Menai Science Park (M-SParc).  According to the Ffiws page on the M-SParc website, its facilities are available to the park's tenants and members of the Enterprise hub.  Its equipment will also be taken on tour with M-SParc for demonstrations to, and possible use by, residents of the places M-SParc visits.  There is similar equipment at the Bangor FabLab in the Pontio Centre though that building is temporarily closed for public health reasons.

On 8 Sept 2020, the business and professional networks that have developed around M-SParc will be celebrated in the Ecosystem 2.0 Webinar. Each member of those networks has been allocated 3 minutes to talk about their work or interests.  I shall use mine to propose an inventors' club for North Wales to make use of Ffiws and FabLab and draw on the expertise of the Ecosystem.

The Business and IP Centre explained the need for an inventors' club in an article strap lined "Great ideas can change the world":

"whilst lots of us often spot the potential for a new product or piece of technology, the harsh realities of research and development, prototyping, manufacturing and distribution often mean that few of those ideas actually make it to market."

Those words apply at least as much to inventors, designers, makers and entrepreneurs in Northwest Wales as they do to London.   This is the British Library's solution:

"The Inventors’ Club has been established by the Business & IP Centre to give budding inventors the opportunity to network with others in the same boat, hear from speakers who have successfully commercialised their inventions, stay motivated and share insider hints, tips, expertise and experience. You’ll get feedback on your inventions in a safe, non-judgmental environment and also find out about how the Library’s extensive collection of business and commercial data can help you on your journey from someone with a great idea, to having a product on the market."

I set up and chaired inventors' clubs in Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield and supported the ones in Blackburn and Manchester.   I can say from experience that they work.  In each of those cities, the clubs helped entrepreneurs and inventors to set up new businesses or license the manufacture and sale of their products to other companies. 

The Wessex Region of Technologists and Inventors in Southampton has published a useful article on Starting an Inventors Club on its website.  A Northwest Wales inventors' club is not something that can be run from outside.   Local people must want it enough to set it up and manage it.  If anybody in Northwest Wales is willing to take the initiative I shall place my expertise, experience and connections at his or her disposal.  Anybody wishing to discuss this proposal may call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form.

Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights: Interim Injunctions

Cardiff Law Courts

Author Ham II
Licence Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 unported
Source Wikipedia Cardiff Crown Court

Jane Lambert

It can take several months and often longer for a claim to come to trial and a lot of harm can be done in that time.  If the harm can be compensated in damages and the wrongdoer is good for the money then all well and good.  The injured party can claim back everything that is owed to it in proceedings known as "an inquiry as to damages". But what if it can't put an accurate figure on its loss for any reason or the person on the other side is a man of straw?  In those circumstances, the applicant may be entitled to an interim injunction.

As I said in Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights 16 April 2019, an injunction is an order by a court to stop or refrain from doing something or, occasionally, to do something.   In Wales and England, disobedience to an injunction is punishable with a fine or spell in prison.  In other countries, it is punishable by a periodic payment known as an astreinte.   There are two kinds of injunctions, namely final injunctions, which are granted after a trial when the parties' rights and obligations are determined, and interim injunctions which are granted from the until the end of the trial.

Interim injunctions can be granted by the High Court or the County Court but not by IPEC's small claims track.  To get one an applicant has to satisfy a judge that he or she could win, that the loss or damage that the applicant will sustain between the date of application and trial if the other side is not stopped cannot be compensated properly in damages and that the applicant can compensate the other side adequately if it transpires that he ort she should never have been awarded the injunction.   Interim injunctions do not come cheap. They can easily double the cost of the litigation,   But if they are granted appropriately they can bring the litigation to a head and lead to an early settlement.

An application should be made for an interim injunction as soon as the injured party becomes aware of the wrongdoing.  If it waits too long the court will assume that it can live with the wrongdoing until trial. Unless there is a good reason for not doing so, a request should be made for the wrongdoing to stop with a warning that an application will be made for an injunction if the request is not complied with.

if such a request is ignored or refused the applicant needs to issue its claim form, an application notice in N244, a draft of the order that it wants the court to make and witness statements in support of the application.  It can issue those documents in London or out of a Chancery district registry of which there are three in Wales, namely Cardiff, Caernarfon and Mold.  The witness statement should state among other things:

• the claim the applicant is making
• reasons why it thinks it will win
• reasons why the other side cannot compensate it adequately in damages attaching documentary evidence wherever possible and appropriate: and
• evidence that the applicant can compensate the other side in damages should it lose the action or otherwise not be entitled to the relief.

It should serve copies of those documents on the other side. 

Unless the application is extremely urgent, service should take place not less than 3 whole working days (not counting the date of service or the date of the hearing) before the applicant applies to the judge for the order.   If it makes its application in London, the hearing can take place almost any day.   If it makes the application anywhere else it should make it on a day (known as an application day) when a chancery judge appointed to hear applications of this kind is sitting in the court for or near the district registry out of which the applicant issued its claim form and application notice.  Interim applications judges sit regularly in Cardiff.  If the applicant issues the claim out of Caernarfon or Mold district registries, it may have to travel to Liverpool or Manchester to make the application.

if the respondent can live with the order that the applicant seeks until trial it may be prepared to give undertakings in accordance with the draft order in exchange for cross undertakings from the applicant to compensate the respondent in damages should the claim fail.   If not, the respondent will file evidence in answer to the applicant's.   The court will consider both parties' evidence on the application day.   If it can deal with the application on the day it will make an order.   If not, it will order it to heard on a later date at a hearing known as an "application by order." Usually, it will set a timetable for the service of further evidence by each party and may make a temporary order to protect both parties' interests to the date of the hearing.

After the hearing, the court will usually order the unsuccessful party to compensate the successful party for the costs or legal fees and other expenses that it may have incurred.  A day before the hearing each party serves on the other schedules (or details) of the costs that it wishes to recover.   There is usually a heated discussion as to how much of the successful party's costs should be allowed.

There is a right of appeal to the Court of Appeal against the decision of the applications judge with the permission of that judge or of the Court of Appeal.  As injunctions are an exercise of the applications judge's discretion the appellant has to show an error of law leading to injustice in order to disturb the decision of the court below.

There are two special injunctions that are made in intellectual property disputes.   One is a search order where a respondent is ordered to open his or her premises and allow a team consisting of a supervising solicitor (a neutral solicitor appointed by the court) and a team of experts and solicitors form the applicant's law firm to search his or her computer, phone and paper records for relevant evidence.  The other is a freezing injunction where the respondent is ordered to disclose all his or her bank accounts and other assets and restrained from touching them except for normal business or living expenses and paying for legal services to defend the action.   Examples of a freezing injunction and a search order appear in the Annex to Practice Direction 25A - Interim Injunctions.

Search orders are made where the court has reason to suspect that the respondent would hide or destroy relevant evidence and freezing injunctions where it fears that the respondent would transfer abroad, hide or dissipate its assets to avoid a judgment.  Applications for such orders are made in secret and without notifying the other side.  As the respondent is absent from the hearing, the applicant has a duty to dislcose to the judge every fact or matter within its knowledge that could be relied upon by the respondent.  Should it fail to do so any order that the court may have made can be dissolved and the applicant ordered to compensate the other side.

Anyone wishing to discuss this article or injunctions generally should call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form,