Pictured: Dr Diana Wardley

A Government move to make it easier for SMEs to protect their copyright, trade marks and designs has been welcomed.

Birmingham-based intellectual property specialists Forresters said many West Midlands firms were put off enforcing their IP rights by "a fear of the unknown."

But a new small claims track to be introduced at the Patents County Court will limit fixed costs for cases involving damages of up to £5,000.

Dr Diana Wardley, a partner at Forresters, one of the UK's leading intellectual property specialists, said small and medium sized businesses often lacked sufficient confidence to stand up and protect their IP rights.

"This will make a real difference as a small claims track means firms can spend time and money on their core business rather than being involved in what can be lengthy and complex court battles. It is also an area where businesses can have little or no experience, and therefore there is often a fear of the unknown and of escalating costs.

"In the first instance, if people are unsure about the process they need to go through, they should seek professional advice," said Dr Wardley. "Companies which are growing and innovative often need to protect either copyright, trade mark or designs, and what the Government has done is to enable these companies to continue to do that by modernising the system in order to provide a way to resolve disputes which is simpler, quicker and more cost efficient."

The recommendation for a small claims track to resolve IP disputes was made last year, and endorsed early in 2011, since when Government has been looking at building a business case for the service, which has now been completed. It is expected it will now be introduced at the Patents County Court in 2012.