Delhi High Court notifies IPR Division Rules, 2022

New Delhi, March 1, 2022:

The High Court of Delhi has notified the Intellectual Property Rights Division Rules, 2022, which will replace the erstwhile Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), among others, in a relief to the industry including pharmaceutical players who are looking for an appellate court for remedy to their grievances in the Intellectual Property-related disputes.

“The Delhi High Court Intellectual Property Rights Division Rules, 2022” (DHC-IPD Rules, 2022), notified on February 28, will come into force on the date on which the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court may notify in the Official Gazette. The IPD will deal with Intellectual Property Right (IPR) matters except cases dealt with by the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court.

The statutes under the Copyright Act, 1957; The Designs Act, 2000; The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999; The Information Technology Act, 2000; The Patents Act, 1970; The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001; The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Act, 2000; and The Trade Marks Act, 1999 are applicable to the Rules.

The Division will be presided over by Single Judges to deal with disputes and cases concerning Intellectual Property Rights subject matter. Every IPR subject matter or case or proceeding or dispute filed before, or transferred to, the IPD, shall be heard and adjudicated by a Single Judge of the Division except those that are to be decided by a Division Bench as per Section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015.

The cases shall include all original proceedings, appellate and other proceedings related to IPR including revocation applications, cancellation applications, other original proceedings, appeals and petitions from the various Intellectual Property Offices (IPOs) and all other proceedings which were so far maintainable before the IPAB, says the Rule. All pending proceedings before the IPAB relating to Delhi jurisdiction transferred to the Delhi High Court will also be doing under its jurisdiction.

“All cases under various categories received in the Delhi High Court from the IPAB shall be registered and listed before the IPD, and given the nomenclature as provided for in these Rules. The IPD shall broadly follow these Rules for the adjudication and disposal of the said cases, to such extent as possible,” said the Rule.

All suits filed in which IPR subject matter is involved, either under the respective statutes or under common law including suits relating to breach of privacy and rights of publicity; Writ Petitions (Civil)[WP(C)],Civil Misc. (Mains)[CM(Main)],Regular First Appeal[RFA], First Appeal from Order[FAO], Civil Revision Petition[CRP] arising out of IPR subject matter(s) and disputes dealt with by the Commercial Courts in Delhi, except matters that are to be dealt with by a Division Bench shall also come under the maters that would come under the Division.

At any stage in a proceeding, the Court may constitute a confidentiality club or adopt such measures as appropriate, consisting of lawyers (external and in-house), experts as also nominated representatives of the parties, for the preservation and exchange of confidential information filed before the Court including documents, as per the Delhi High Court (Original Side) Rules, 2018.

The Court may, in any IPR subject matter, also seek assistance of expert(s) (including individuals and institutions) relating to the subject matter of the dispute as may be necessary. The IPD may maintain a panel of experts to assist the Court and which panel may be reviewed from time to time.

Judges of the IPD shall have the assistance of additional Law Researchers who shall possess technical qualifications. Such Law Researcher(s) shall be part of a common pool of Law Researchers for the IPD. The number of law researchers would be at least two in number for each Bench of the IPD. The said Law Researchers would be attached to the IPD and not with the individual Judge concerned.

At any stage, in any proceeding, if the Court is of the opinion that the parties ought to explore mediation, the Court may appoint a qualified mediator or panel of mediators including mediators with training or experience in IPR subject matter(s). Consent of the parties is not required once the Court is of the opinion that an amicable resolution needs to be explored. Such mediation will be conducted under the aegis of the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre and, where necessary, in collaboration with the relevant IPO.

At any stage the court may also direct Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE) by appointing a qualified and independent evaluator if it is of the opinion that such ENE would assist in early resolution.

Appeals from the orders of the IPD shall be filed to the Division Bench either in the form of a Letters Patent Appeal (LPA) or as appeals to the Commercial Appellate Division under relevant Section of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015.

It may be noted that the Chennai-headquartered IPAB, which was the appellate Board for the IPR related disputes in the country, was abolished in 2021 following the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021 (“Ordinance”), which is now the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021. Proposals earlier to relocate the principal office of the IPAB from Chennai resulted in protest from various corners including the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the current ruling party in Tamil Nadu. Pharmabiz