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WORKING WITH DUMMETT COPP

What you need to know about us

As with any other people you employ, it is important that you understand the way in which your patent and trade mark attorney will act for you. We set out below our terms of business and the basis upon which we calculate fees. Please read this carefully, and if you have any queries raise them with us as soon as possible. All instructions which we accept incorporate these terms and conditions.

How to give us instructions

We do work for you in response to instructions which you give to us. It is important to both of us that these instructions are clear and are understood by both of us. It will help you and us if, where possible, you give us instructions in writing rather than verbally.

Standard of Service

Do please tell us if you are not happy with any aspect of the service you receive. Talk initially with the person responsible for the day to day handling of your work who will try to resolve any problems quickly and to your satisfaction and will also explain what other courses of action are open to you. We hope that having read this leaflet you will understand how we operate and will be satisfied with all aspects of our service.

Terms of Business

In the event of payment not being made within these terms, we reserve the right to suspend work on your file where the account is unpaid and on any other matters being dealt with for you and, ultimately, to decline to represent you further. In those circumstances, final accounts will be rendered for work on all matters calculated to that date.

We normally ask clients to deposit an advance payment on account of fees and disbursements. We reserve the right to make the receipt of such payment a condition of our accepting instructions.

When we are holding an advance payment, we will let you have a VAT invoice as soon as the work has been carried out.

Work on patent and trade mark applications and on other matters which require action at intermittent times will be invoiced each time an action is completed. However some matters may extend over a protracted period. In such matters we reserve the right to submit interim invoices, for example on a monthly basis.

If work which we have undertaken for you does not proceed to a conclusion, we will charge only for work done up to the point where you instruct us to stop, and for any disbursements paid on your behalf.

If required, your files and other papers will be released once payment of our account and any other outstanding accounts has been made.

We store all files for a minimum period of six years. We store the files of granted patent, design and trade mark files until the patent, design or trade mark ceases to be in force.

Much of the work which we do relies on the observance of strict time limits, and we will need to communicate with you to obtain your instructions in the future. Please notify us promptly of any change of address so that we can stay in touch with you. This is particularly important after grant of a patent or registration of a trade mark or design as we will need to contact you about renewal fees. Some information which you give is recorded on our computer to assist us in running our business efficiently. We are registered under the provisions of the Data Protection Act.

Fees

Our fees are calculated by reference to the time spent working for you. Different hourly rates may be charged for different types of work, and according to the seniority of the person who handles it for you. Other factors may increase our charges such as exceptional urgency, complexity or the need to work unsocial hours. All time spent progressing your files is recorded including for instance:

Advising you in meetings and on the telephone

Negotiating with others on your behalf in meetings, by letter and by telephone

Considering, drafting and completing patent specifications, documents, deeds etc

Preparing for court or tribunal hearings, including travelling and waiting time

Instructing third parties on your behalf

Legal and factual research

In addition to the time charge, we make a 'service' charge in respect of routine operations such as the filing of a patent application. The service charge covers the establishment costs of setting up record entries in our computer system, updating these details as applications progress and issuing standard letters during the progress of applications, both in this country and abroad.

The person responsible for the day to day handling of your work will be able to give you an approximate indication of the amount of fees incurred at any given time, and to discuss any other factors which may affect the final fee.

For each particular job we will, on request, give you an estimate of what our fees will be likely to amount to, where it is possible to do so based on the information available to us at the time. In any event we will advise you of the basis upon which we will charge.

It is not possible to know at the outset of a patent application, a trade mark application or other legal transaction how much time will be spent and therefore exactly what the fees will be. We are thus not normally in a position to give fixed price quotations.

If you subsequently ask us to undertake additional work, or change your mind and alter earlier instructions or give instructions very close to deadline dates, this will almost certainly increase our costs and therefore our fees. As the work progresses we will let you know if it becomes apparent that an estimate will be exceeded for any reason.

If at any stage you are concerned about costs please consult us. An upper limit can be set, at your request or ours, on the amount of fees which may be incurred without further reference to you.

Where we carry out your instructions through associates in foreign countries, there are some aspects where the costs are outside our control, for example sudden changes in exchange rates and unexpected increases in local Patent and Trade Mark Office fees. We reserve the right to pass on such increases in our invoices.

In addition to our fees, your total costs are likely to include other payments made to third parties on your behalf as work progresses, eg Patent Office fees, overseas associates fees and search costs (known as disbursements). We normally request payment in advance to cover expected disbursements so that we can pay them promptly. Please respond quickly as delay in providing funds may result in delay in dealing with the matter for you.

Estimates of fees do not include VAT which will be charged at the current rate applicable (except on fees paid to the UK Patent Office, the European Patent Office, the Community Trade Mark Office or the World Intellectual Property Office, all of which are zero-rated).

If you have not used a patent and trade mark attorney before it may be useful to know that you can help to limit the time we need to spend on your case and, therefore, the charges by:

Bringing to the first interview any relevant papers, letters, documents, etc

Giving us clear instructions in writing well before any deadline we notify you of. Overseas Associates often levy an urgency surcharge of as much as 25-50% if they receive instructions late, especially in foreign language countries

Telling us if you have any important time limits or dates of which we should be aware, e.g. holidays

Dealing promptly with our queries, telephone messages and letters

Informing us of any changes of address or telephone number

Making an appointment if you want to see someone. If you call in to see someone urgently we will make sure that you are seen as soon as possible, but without an appointment you may be unable to see the person whom you would like

Arriving promptly for appointments and letting us know in advance if you are unable to keep an appointment

Telephoning us with urgent queries or information. If your patent attorney is unavailable please talk to his or her secretary who will be able to help or to ensure that your call is dealt with as soon as possible

Above all, please ask if you are not sure about anything.