The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has issued a Tribunal Practice Notice (TPN) concerning the award of costs in proceedings (including trade mark proceedings) before the Comptroller: IPO Tribunal Practice Notice (TPN 4/2007): Costs in proceedings before the Comptroller, 14 November 2007. This notice updates and supplements TPN 2/2000 by updating the scale of costs and providing more guidance arising from recent hearings.

The award of costs represents a contribution to what the successful party has spent rather than providing full compensation, building on the principle that the Comptroller should have the freedom to award costs outside the normal scale in order to deal proportionately with unreasonable behaviour. The new scale applies to proceedings commenced on or after 3 December 2007.