TN Govt Notifies Madras HC Intellectual Property Division Rules, 2022

The Tamil Nadu government has recently notified the Madras High Court Intellectual Property Rights Division Rules, 2022 in the official gazette.

The Madras High Court drafted the Rules to govern cases heard by its Intellectual Property Rights Division (IPD).

It lay out the practice and procedure for the Court’s ordinary original, appellate, criminal, and writ jurisdiction.

According to the High Court Registry, the Intellectual Property Division of the Madras High Court will be inaugurated next week.

Following the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021, which abolished the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) in April 2021, the IPD was established as a specialised division to exclusively adjudicate matters pertaining to intellectual property rights. All cases pending before the IPAB were to be transferred to the respective High Courts as a result of this ordinance.

The Trade Marks Act, 1999; the Copyright Act, 1957; the Patents Act, 1970; the Designs Act, 2000; the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999; the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001; and the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design Act, 2000 are the statutes that will be dealt with by the IPDD for the purposes of the Rules.

In February 2023, a Bench comprised of Acting Chief Justice T Raja and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy stated that the government has been sitting on the notification since October 2022, with no reason given. It had mandated that the State notify the Rules and report on compliance.

The bench made this observation while hearing a petition filed by a private firm, M/s Galatea Limited, asking the High Court Registrar General to consider its representation in framing and implementing appropriate rules to transfer pending cases from the former IPAB in Chennai to the High Court.

During the hearing, the High Court Registrar General filed a status report before the High Court, noting that the Registry was awaiting notification from the State government for the IPD’s inauguration.