Delhi High Court to hold national seminar on Adjudication of IPR Disputes in India on Feb 26

A National Seminar on Adjudication of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Disputes in India is scheduled to be held by the Delhi High Court on February 26, 2022 under the leadership of Chief Justice DN Patel..The event scheduled for the coming Saturday, will have Finance Minister Nirmala Seetharaman as the Guest of Honour and Chief Justice of India NV Ramana as the Chief Guest.Justice Sonia G Gokani of the Gujarat High Court, Justice Soumen Sen of the Calcutta High Court, Justice Gautam S Patel of the Bombay High Court, Justice M Sundar of the Madras High Court, Justice Sanjeev Narula and Justice Prathiba M Singh of the Delhi High Court will take part in a panel discussion in the afternoon..The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) was abolished by The Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021 (Act) and the Ordinance , with effect from April, 2021.The jurisdiction to hear all appeals from the various Intellectual Property offices (IPOs), as also original proceedings, now vests with the High Courts. In the background of abolition of IPAB, the Delhi High Court expects at least 5,000 case pendency relating to IPR subject matter which includes cases to be transferred from the IPAB.The Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Justice DN Patel constituted a Committee of Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Sanjeev Narula to review the manner in which litigation relating to intellectual property rights were to be handled in the Delhi High Court.The Chief Justice also constituted a committee which consisted of Justice Prathiba M. Singh, Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Sanjeev Narula for drafting of rules governing patent suit and actions.Based on the recommendations of the Committee, the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court announced the establishment of the Intellectual Property Division (IPD) in July 2021. The said IPD would be dealing with all IP cases under one umbrella so as to maintain consistency and clarity, and to avoid duplication and multiplicity of proceedings. The High Court has also framed Rules for the working of the IPD..These Rules were put up for suggestions, and a large number of stakeholders including lawyers, law firms, IPR attorneys sent in their suggestions. Suggestions were also received from members of the judiciary. Three rounds of consultation including one physical interaction with the stakeholders were held and the Rules have now been finalized..Since IPR disputes involve both domestic and international litigants and considering the nature of such litigation, it is believed that it would be desirable to have a uniform system of dealing with such litigations across the country. It is with this purpose in mind that the Delhi High Court has decided to hold an interaction with the Chief Justices and judges of various High Courts..[Read Invitation Card]