In a letter to the UK House of Lords, which is considering the Intellectual Property Bill (containing a provision aimed at starting the UK’s ratification process), the Law Society of Scotland has recommended that its courts retain jurisdiction over patent cases under the new unitary patent regime. The Society considers it important that Scotland is allocated a local division of the Unified Patent Court. According to the Society, this will ensure that businesses operating in Scotland are not unduly disadvantaged by a significant increase in costs in no longer having a local option to enforce or defend their rights.