Trade Mark & Patent Attorneys welcome appointment of first ombudsman for legal complaints

The OLC is a new organisation set up to develop and administer an independent ombudsman scheme to deal with complaints by consumers about legal services, including those provided by patent and trade mark attorneys who in 2008 set up their own regulatory body, the Intellectual Property Regulation Board, IPREG, under the chairmanship of Michael Heap.

Gillian Deas, President of the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (ITMA), said, “I welcome Adam Sampson’s appointment.  His previous experience as an ombudsman makes him unusually well-qualified for this new role.  We look forward to continuing to work with the Office for Legal Complaints to ensure the independent and proportionate regulation of the professions”.

David Bradley, President of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA), said, 'We welcome Adam Sampson’s appointment. He will bring to bear the independence of someone from outside the legal profession but with some very relevant knowledge and experience of working in an ombudsman role.  However, we believe that the IP profession’s own regulatory reforms will mean that very few cases involving patent or trade mark attorneys should ever be referred to the ombudsman.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS

Office for Legal Complaints

The appointment of the Chief Ombudsman for the Office for Legal Complaints is the next step in the implementation of the Legal Services Act 2007.  The Act sets the stage for wide-ranging reforms to the provision and regulation of legal services in England and Wales and establishes the OLC to administer an ombudsman scheme that will deal with all consumer complaints about legal services.  The OLC will be independent from government and the legal profession. It will be a public body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice and will become fully operational by no later than the end of 2010.

ITMA – the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys

The Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (ITMA) was established in 1934 as the professional body representing those persons qualified to act for the owners of trade mark and allied intellectual property rights (in particular, registered designs) both nationally and internationally. It now represents the vast majority of UK registered trade mark agents and all UK Trade Mark & Design Litigators. Currently ITMA has approximately 500 practising members; it also extends associate membership to professionals in related fields of law and overseas membership to foreign trade mark attorneys. Its total membership (all classes) is about 1600 members, primarily located in the United Kingdom and Europe, but also in more than 50 other countries.

Patent Attorneys

A Patent Attorney (formerly known as a patent agent) has qualified by experience and examination for entry of his or her name on the Register of Patent Attorneys. Patent attorneys are specially trained and experienced in the art of drafting patents and in knowledge of intellectual property law.  They are entitled to deal with related areas of law such as designs, copyright and trade marks as well as patents.  The majority of patent attorneys are also Chartered Patent Attorneys and European Patent Attorneys.

For further information on patent attorneys contact Nicholas Pope Tel: 020 7405 9450 or Peter Prowse Tel: 01372 271234, mobile: 07973 213039.

Press enquiries to Ken Storey, PR Manager, Tel: 020 8941 6079 or Mobile 07710 434 507.