The Lord Chancellor's Department announced today that three more senior lawyers have been named Appointed Persons to hear appeals against decisions of the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office's Design Registry. They are Phillip Johnson and James Mellor QC (both of whom will also hear trade mark appeals), and Martin Howe QC, who will hear design appeals only.

The Appointed Person's decisions are binding on the parties and, in keeping with the notion that there should be a means of preventing Office disputes from escalating, they are not subject to any further appeal.