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UK Supreme court replaces House of Lords

The highest judicial instance responsible for intellectual property litigation in England has previously been the House of Lords, one of the two Houses of Parliament. That has now changed, with the opening of the Supreme Court (SC) on 1 October 2009.

The aim of this change is to separate more clearly the judicial function carried out by the Law Lords from the rest of the parliamentary process.

The SC will hear appeals on arguable points of law of general public importance and it will act as final court of appeal in civil and criminal cases.

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