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Article \ 31 Jul 2023

India post-IPAB: Should other courts also have their own IP division?

In 2021, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) in India was abolished. The IPAB was a quasi-judicial body tasked to handle IP rights disputes. Since then, two Indian High Courts have established their own IP divisions. The Delhi High Court was the first to do it; the Madras High Court followed suit. Should more High Courts in India adopt the specialized IP court system like the Delhi and Madras High Courts did? IP lawyers and attorneys interviewed by Asia IP believe so. But first, let’s take a deep dive into the abolition of the IPAB and the formation of the Delhi High Court’s IP Division. The Delhi High Court, being the first High Court, has demonstrated proactive foresight by establishing a dedicated IP division exclusively for handling IP matters. This strategic move has proven effective in systematically managing cases transitioning from the IPAB. The Delhi High Court’s reputation as an IP litigation centre adds weight to its proactive approach,” said Kangan Roda, founding partner at illuminIP in New Delhi. “Certainly, the establishment of dedicated IP divisions in more Indian High Courts is indeed crucial to manage the mounting workload and intricacies of IP cases. This move can streamline proceedings, alleviate the burden on specific High Courts and ensure better accessibility to justice for trademark and IP matters,” added Roda. IPAB’s dissolution and the subsequent reallocation of its jurisdiction to High Courts presented a challenge, Roda said. “Currently, only a handful of High Courts possess original civil jurisdiction while others function solely as appellate forums. This results in a situation where IP cases from various regions are channelled to just a few High Courts with original jurisdiction, currently only Delhi High Court and Madras High Court, as IP divisions, causing an overload of cases and leading to delays in resolution.” She cited The Hershey Company v. Dilip Kumar Bacha C.O., which isbeing presided over by the Delhi High Court, as an example. According to Roda, the case drives home the question of jurisdictional scope as far as the Delhi High Court is concerned. The question revolves around a situation where trademark registrations occur in Ahmedabad, but rectification petitions are brought before the Delhi High Court. “By creating specialized forums for IP matters, High Courts can efficiently address the complexities of this legal domain,” said Roda, “ultimately contributing to the integrity and effectiveness of India's IP landscape.”

India post-IPAB: Should other courts also have their own IP division?

Article \ 7 Feb 2025

Transformation of India's patent landscape explained

India now ranks sixth globally in patent applications, with 64,510 filings in 2023 and patent grants surging by 149.4% over the previous year, according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation. In trademarks, India ranked fourth globally, with 496,326 filings, marking a 6.1% rise. Kangan Roda, a senior panel counsel for the Indian government at Delhi High Court and panel counsel at the Supreme Court, shares her thoughts on the factors behind this growth. Q1. India’s patent landscape has witnessed a significant transformation, with resident filings rising from 24.8% in 2013 to 55.2% in 2023. For the first time, domestic applicants accounted for most patent filings with the Indian Patent Office (IPO). What are the key drivers behind this shift? The fact that domestic applicants breached the 50% benchmark for the first time can be attributed to two factors. Firstly, policy measures that focus on improving India’s position in the patent landscape and, secondly, a renewed interest towards R&D. The National Intellectual Property Policy in 2016 has seen domestic patent applications recording consistent growth ever since. India has registered a fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth in patent filings. Startups can also benefit from their innovations at a low cost with the Start-Ups Intellectual Property Protection in 2016, as it offers 80% fee rebates for applications. While the government has been key in transforming India’s patent landscape, credit must go to industry and institutions as well. Q2. India saw an extraordinary 149.4% increase in patents granted in 2023, the highest growth among the world’s top 10 patent offices. What structural reforms at the IPO have contributed to this growth? Have any challenges in the patenting process been addressed? Resolving deficiencies at the IPO has been at the forefront of the government’s agenda. While online patent filing proved to be a game-changer, concerted legislative efforts have further streamlined procedures for the granting of patents. The Patent (Amendment) Rules, 2016, made several key classes eligible for an expedited patent examination, including startups, small entities, female applicants and educational institutions. The time to file applications for a grant was reduced from 12 to six months. The IPO discontinued the mandatory requirement of filing original documents. The number of IPO patent examiners has increased four-fold since 2016. The 2024 amendment also cut the time for requesting an examination from 48 to 31 months. These reforms have fixed some longstanding gaps. Q3. What additional steps can the government take to build a more robust and inclusive IP framework to increase patent filings, particularly from smaller enterprises and individual innovators? Recent steps taken by the IPO and government bodies are commendable. However, to further improve the IP protection ecosystem in India, the government can consider assisting startups and individual innovators by introducing IP clinics and advisory centres. IP clinics can help budding entrepreneurs with consultation, counselling and advisory services, who could consider applying for funds to protect their IP in India via patents. Providing research grants to organisations/individuals would also boost innovation and naturally result in more patent filings. Q4. How can the corporate sector contribute to strengthening partnerships between academic institutions and industry? What models have been successful globally that India can adopt? It is imperative to strengthen the industry-academia collaboration if India is to unlock its true innovative potential and stand toe-to-toe with the likes of the US, China and Europe. While legislative steps, for instance, the Bayh-Dole Act in the US, have proven successful, independent partnerships can ignite innovation if they realise it is a win-win situation. Setting up research labs in institutions provide researchers with invaluable capital, while industry can broaden its product pool. Industry leaders should also consider partnering with technology transfer cells across India to streamline patent filings. Indian industry would be wise to take a cue from AstraZeneca, which collaborated with Oxford on key projects. The Fraunhofer Society in Germany is a guiding light for institutions, with a presence in 76 institutes and boasting more than €3.4 billion in annual business volume.

Transformation of India's patent landscape explained

Article \ January 13, 2021

Realizing India's potential in Intellectual Property

In 2020 Kangan Roda founded IP boutique law firm illuminIP, in New Delhi, India. In this interview with Asia Law Portal, Ms. Roda explains what inspired her focus on intellectual property law, her new firm, illuminIP and the future of her practice, her experience of intellectual property litigation in India’s courts, what businesses should keep in mind about IP when doing business in India, and her hopes for the future of intellectual property law in India. You specialize in intellectual property rights and practice at the Delhi High Court, India. Tell us more about your practice. I have been intrigued by and passionate about the field of intellectual property since my Law School days and have practising IPR law since past 7 years now. The key areas of my practice include Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs and Music laws. Thanks to my years of working and training under the most brilliant minds in the field of IP law I have been able to specialise in providing complete brand portfolio management and advisory services to start-ups and well-established corporates alike. I take pride in saying that my area of expertise is IP Litigation as well, due to which I have had the privilege to represent eminent and acclaimed companies in Courts and Tribunals from all business sectors be it Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Pharmaceuticals, Food & Beverages (F&B), Information Technology (IT), Banking etc. Presently I am focused on setting a new standard for IP practice, modifying the quaint and traditional ways into creating customised and unique services packages to cater each client’s unique requirements be it an individual or an organisation. You have represented eminent companies before the Courts in IP litigation. What are the prime IP considerations to consider for companies and entrepreneurs doing business in India? In my experience, depending on the nature of business, companies, entrepreneurs or even individuals seeking to do business in India are themselves making it a priority to protect their IP first and foremost even before commencing any business activity. Which IP is what? differs depending on the business, its nature or product and sometimes even the size of the organisation. It is extremely important to protect an individual’s creation primarily, be it a product’s functionality or its design through the IP provisions to keep it unique to their organisation. For well-established organisations their primary concern becomes protection of the brand name/trade mark from any infringement or violations thereof. Companies which have done business over the years gain a certain goodwill which becomes attached to their names. In certain cases a brand name is associated with a certain quality of goods as well; no company would want anyone to use their name and put a sub-par product or service out to consumers, which could affect their brand value or damage their future sales. The companies are getting more aware about the protection of the brand which is healthy for the business as well as the consumers. Last 4-5 years have brought in more awareness pertaining to IPR in the businesses and consumers compared to last 2 decades combined. One of the major reasons for that is also our country’s booming economic potential and the consumer base for almost anything and everything, which is driving businesses from all over the world to explore India as a market. And as the number of similar businesses increases, so does the need for them to protect their intellectual property and individuality. Tell us more about your firm, illuminIP Where do I start. Let me start first with how it came to be. As I mentioned earlier, during my years of working in this field under the biggest and best names in the IP law field, within my first few years of dealing with clients and representing them, I realised that there was a serious gap in the industry when it comes to offering diverse services at affordable pricing. I realised that there should be dedicated and customised service packages depending on different portfolios and needs of every client, considering facts like the time, effort and cost that goes into a project or the services the client seeks on a regular basis. Six years into this field and after falling in love with what I do, I decided I wanted to open an IP law firm which is transparent with its working and is dedicated to providing a custom-built service experience for every client’s individual or unique needs. That is how illuminIP came to be—a boutique IP firm providing one-stop solutions for all Intellectual Property Rights. We have a complete in-house team dealing on a daily basis with Trade Mark, Patents, Designs, Copyright, Conflicts, Custom Border Protection, IP Litigation, Raid and seizure operations. While we specialise in IP law, we also render services pertaining to corporate law actively and we have a strict policy—regular or not, we treat every client as special. What inspired you to pursue a career in IP law and what have been your most significant professional experiences so far? Something new is being created every day in this world and protecting the innovators and their inventions is a notion that always intrigued me. Having tried my hand at most streams of law, this is the reason I got drawn to IPR the most. It is not only my belief but now a well-researched and studied fact that intellectual properties play a vital role in today’s time in a country’s economic development. I have said it before and I will say it again—IPR not only touches the higher end of the economy but also each and every fragment of the economy. I firmly believe that India is yet to realize IP’s full potential and I want to be a part of the journey toward the realisation of that potential. Also a great motivation for me was the fact that similar to how an invention’s influence is not limited to one nation, thanks to statutes like the Madrid Protocol, an IP expert’s influence has also begun to cross borders and widened the field of practice for Indian IP experts to multiple nations. To answer the second part of your question, I cannot pinpoint just one, but there are many significant professional experiences. I was blessed with the opportunity to train and learn under the biggest and brightest minds in the field of IPR, which helped me gain a comprehensive understanding and deep knowledge of the industry requirements relating to core practice areas and the role of intellectual property rights in businesses. This in turn led to my most accomplished, proud and significant professional experience so far—founding an IP boutique law firm called illuminIP in 2020. What are your plans for your practice for the future? I am excited about the future growth and prospects of illuminIP and developing a streamlined pitch for IP laws in India. I intend to make the most of the IP practice and every opportunity I am offered in my practice area or beyond. I also intend to contribute more to Fashion, Media and Entertainment law in the future. I will be working on broadening my horizon while maintaining focus on my expertise as a professional.

Realizing India's potential in Intellectual Property

Article \ August 6, 2022

IP framework for protection of work created by an AI mechanism.

Kangan Roda is Partner at IlluminIP, an IP boutique firm offering a complete range of services in India relating to contentious and non-contentious Intellectual Property (IP) issues. The key areas of Kangan’s practice include Intellectual Property Rights – trade marks, copyright and designs. She has represented acclaimed companies from sectors like Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Pharmaceuticals, Food & Beverages (F&B), Information Technology, Banking and others. Q. On the personal front, why did you choose to specialise in IPR? After having wet my feet in mostly all streams of the legal profession during law school and after that, I found myself drawn towards IPR the most. Since something new is being penned every day, taking the world forward through innovation, protecting the innovation and the innovators’ interest is something that intrigued me — the back-end process, you know. Because of IPR relevance in today’s time specially in promotion and protection of research, innovation, and start-ups, I strongly believe that it plays an important role in any country’s economic development. Unlike other statutes and streams of laws that are mostly bound or specific to our country, IPR thanks to provisions of the Madrid protocol also opened doors for the Indian IP experts to provide their services not just in domestic ambit but almost to all countries world-wide. The vast international field of play was one of the main reasons I chose to specialize in it. Having said that, and having realized that IPR not only touches the higher end of the economy but also each and every fragment of the economy, I firmly believe that India is yet to realize IP’s full potential. Here I would like to refer to a quote by Shakespeare, which was quoted in one of the judgments and it completely changed the way I look at IPR: “Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls: Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing; ‘Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands: But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him And makes me poor indeed.” Q. During the COVID-19 pandemic situation, there are some essential innovations taking place across the world in the tech and medical spaces to provide much-needed relief to populations. Do you think IPR can be a hindrance to more and more people getting access to such essential products? Well, this is a tricky one. It’s sort of a double-edged sword. With the innovations taking place around the world in especially medical space due to COVID and the pace with which it is happening, I think that IPR while playing an important role in more than one way also acts as a hindrance in getting those innovations out in the open for the public to utilise. Having said that, it is extremely important that the intellectual property is protected but there are always ways to regulate it better in special circumstances such as this one. The protection of the Research & Development/process involved in the making of the medicine/drug one, takes time and two, increases the cost of the drug for procuring such protections. I believe for the pharmaceutical industry, these aspects must be taken care of by way of strategic policies and laws in the field of IP, which may help public to access the essential products faster and at a cheaper price. Q. We are in the midst of an Artificial Intelligence boom. What are some of the challenges that AI is posing for the IP system? The answer can be two-fold. One, since we see AI already taking over basic jobs from humans and us seeing software advancement every day to try to cut on human errors and taking over their roles in certain industries. I don’t see that happening in IP system anytime soon. I am sure that the registration process and filings will soon be flawlessly atomized but when it comes to expertise and advisory no form of AI can take over the human mind. We IP experts have trained ourselves to find the right method, means and form to help another human protect its creation or concept by using the prevailing law in various shapes and structure, which only a human can comprehend. On the other hand, ironically, there is another challenge posed by Artificial Intelligence for the IP system which is to distinguish between work created by humans and work created by machines itself. The current IP framework helps humans protect their IP rights which includes patents, copyright, industrial designs, and trade secrets but does not include extension of such protection to the machines. It is therefore going to be a need for the future to device a framework for protection of work created by an Artificial Intelligence mechanism itself. Having said that, who knows that one day I will work on protecting such a technology unknowingly that may one day take over my job, as there are no limits to innovation. Hope it does not come to that though. Q. We recently held a webinar during which the chief speaker, Hon’ble Justice Prathiba Singh of the Delhi High Court, described copyright law as similar to “space”, saying that copyright law has no limitations and that its full potential has not been realised. In your opinion, in a nutshell, what are the further additions that can be made to the copyright laws in India and maybe in the international context too? Copyright law is indeed like “space” which has no limitations. Copyright subsists in a work as soon as the original work is created, which means that as soon as you type words (literary work), click the shutter on your camera or mobile phone (photography), apply paint to canvas or paper (artistic work) or lay down tracks for your next hit (musical/cinematographic work), you have acquired a copyright. Most people are not aware of their own rights and therefore, the works are exploited both commercially and otherwise without the knowledge of its rightful owner. It is for this reason that better enforcement laws pertaining to copyright, to protect one’s copyright should be added both in India and internationally. Q. As a young lawyer, have you experienced any India-specific problems pertaining to IPR? Yes, in India, there is a tremendous problem pertaining to IPR which is the lack of knowledge among people regarding their own rights to protect their Intellectual Property, which at times leads to the exploitation of their work/research and innovations. There is a substantial gap in this system. Though now our government is taking extensive steps in this directions and introducing multiple opportunities for start-ups and small enterprises to support them in protecting their IPR. Q. The pandemic has forced shopping malls to shut down and most businesses are transitioning to online models as customers seek to get everything at their doorsteps. What relevance would IPR have in this major transition of businesses? We have seen an exponential increase in e-commerce during the COVID and is expected to increase post COVID period as well. I cannot say if IPR’s relevance has increased any more than it already was apart from every business whether small or big getting their IP registered, there has been an increase in the number of trade mark applications for sure but more than that this transition in business model has had a very interesting and relevant impact on enforcement of IPR. Specifically, territorial jurisdiction pertaining to trade mark and copyright infringement suits. With the landmark judgment delivered by the Delhi High Court in the suit titled Ultra Homes Construction Private Limited Vs. Purushottam Kumar Chaubey and Ors. (commonly referred to as “Ultra Homes Judgment”), there has been a major shift in the territorial jurisdictions in IP infringement suits. Our judicial precedents have established that every click made by a costumer for purchase is an acceptance of a contract. Applying the said principle, each click/purchase made by any person shall give rise for an independent cause of action to the holder of trade mark or copyright, in case of any violation of their rights. This opens a pandora box of forums, having jurisdiction to entertain suits for infringements especially with the mass reach of the e-commerce industry. Another interesting aspect to the entire gamut of territorial justification, especially in the COVID-19 era is a shift towards digital courts from physical courts. While complete digitization of the Indian judicial system is a distant dream however, a movement in the said path has also opened a lot of other possibilities. Q. On a personal level, how are you adapting to the changes in professional environments brought about by the pandemic and the lockdown? What do you like to do when you are not working? On a personal level I have come to realize that as unprecedented as the times are right now, we all at some-point needed this break that the pandemic forced us to take allowing us to contemplate and review our choices on personal and professional front. Personally post the first month of complete lockdown and when things started to get back on track and work commenced, I felt more energetic, encouraged and had a new perspective on a lot of things which I would have done differently say if I did not have the contemplation time forcefully handed to me by COVID-19. On a more professional front, we operate a paper-less office, which has been a blessing for us in the times of the pandemic and the lockdown. All our files are electronically maintained which makes accessing the records effortless and efficient. Honestly, I am amazed to see how well technology can be utilized to cater to one’s everyday functioning, when properly equipped. Having said that, adapting to the professional environmental changes has been smooth for me. I am a strong believer of “Necessity is the mother of invention”, and therefore, adapting to the changing times is need of the hour. To answer the second part of your question, when I am not working, I love to go out for nature walks and I am quite passionate about photography. I try to catch up on what’s trending in terms of movies/ web series and spend as much time as I can with my loved ones and my dog Noddy, a Labrador.

IP framework for protection of work created by an AI mechanism.
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