Rising To The Challenge - Is There A Need For Specialized IP Courts In India Amidst Global Trends
Author: LawSphereX
Category: General Law
Published:
Updated:
RISING TO THE CHALLENGE: IS THERE A NEED FOR
SPECIALIZED IP COURTS IN INDIA AMIDST GLOBAL
TRENDS
Hrishabh Daga & Radha Kalate, O. P. Jindal Global Law School
ABSTRACT
The recent development, which has now become a global trend, of establishing specialised courts for specific sectors of law has yielded promising results in terms of increased judicial efficiency and quality. Such courts, with subject matter expertise, help to reduce the long-term burden on general-purpose courts. Among these trends, questions have been raised about whether India should also establish specialised courts for intellectual property disputes, particularly given the fact that this field of law is expanding at a rapid pace, the complexity of IP law, and the success of similar courts in other countries. However, the path to implementation is not clear, and there are obstacles such as limited resources, financial constraints, and accessibility concerns.
What is critical is that the potential benefits and drawbacks of this initiative are properly assessed before it is implemented in India. The final decision will be based on balancing these competing variables to determine the feasibility and consequence of specialised IP courts on the Indian legal system.
Introduction: There is a recent global trend, for introducing specialised courts for specific fields of the law with subject matter expertise in that field. This gives the court, exclusive jurisdiction for that field, for instance- commercial courts, family courts, industrial tribunals-cum-labour courts and even POCSO courts. Each of these courts, are defined and have judges who have expertise in that realm of law, which not only help in reducing the burden on general jurisdiction courts but also foster improved decision-making in complex areas, which a general court would fail to do. In and among these developments, the need to recognise and protect intellectual property, which has become an essential element of the current global economy is critical. Almost every country faces a judicial backlog of cases and several legal complexities.
To tackle this, the question arises that like other realms of law, does India need specialised IP courts (as stated in the case of Shree Vardhman Rice & Gen. Mills v. Amar Singh Chawalwala1) to help tackle the existing and upcoming burden of intellectual property violations, while drawing inference from countries like Azerbaijan, Brazil, China, Japan, and Thailand, who have already introduced specialised IP courts & divisions. 2 What will these specialised courts do? Just like how family courts, NCLT and POCSO courts are specialised courts for family law matters, company law matters, and child sexual abuse matters respectively, a specialised court for Intellectual Property would be an independent judicial body, that shall adjudicate all IP related disputes ranging from trademark violations, patent disputes, copyright infringement to counterfeiting and piracy.
Such courts will also have the jurisdiction to review and reverse the decisions of lower courts if necessary. An overview of the specialised courts in the Indian legal system would include arguments in both sides, as mentioned below: Arguments in favour of specialised IP courts: By transferring the baton from a generalised court to a specialised court, the following desirable
1 Shree Vardhman Rice & Gen. Mills v. Amar Singh Chawalwala" (2010) 42 PTC 456 (Del)
2 Zhu W and Pimenta M, ‘IP Courts and the Worldwide Trend toward Specialization’ (Lexology, 5 April 2024) accessed 15 July
motives can be attained: a) Efficiency & Expertise: When a switch is made from general courts to a specialised court, not only does this take off some burden from general court to wrestle off with, but the adjudication by the latter would be more efficient and expeditious than the former due to expertise in the subject matter. Judges and staff of general courts are often given the tag of ‘novices at all and experts at none’. With the already massive backlog of cases, it would be impossible to expect the judge to be well-versed with all recent developments in the field of IPR and this in turn would lead to improper rulings and decisions that would lack depth and quality. Specialised courts on the other hand, with proper judges & staff would rule higher quality decisions, through which the overall efficiency of the judicial system will improve.
b) Enhanced Enforcement: Contrary to general courts, specialised courts would prioritise an Intellectual Property dispute, which in turn shall lead to faster adjudication. Such courts will be better equipped with the developments in the field of IPR and to tailor remedies depending on case to case, which will help in mitigating all risk in protecting the right holder and punishing the infringer via smart coordination and continuous guidance to enforcement agencies, which might not be updated on how to tackle such matters comprehensively. 3 c) Conflict Elimination: Adhering to current circumstances, parties are given the choice of choosing which court shall have the jurisdiction over matters, based on their own preferences and interests. This instance is called forum shopping and based on what is favourable, decisions are taken which leads to conflicts.
To combat this issue, the shift to specialised courts, helps in maintaining consistency and uniformity for all IPR matters, while eliminating conflicts and forum shopping. Arguments against that of specialised IP courts: Despite the various advantages of establishing specialised courts, the initiative has certain flaws & drawbacks as well, which acts like the opposite force neutralising the initiative from being
3 de Werra J, ‘A Closer Look at Specialized Intellectual Property Courts’ (WIPO, June 2019)
accessed 15 July 2024
implemented, which include: a) Limited Resources: India's lack of physical space, inadequate infrastructure, specialised workforce, training opportunities, and lack of mention of specialised courts in the country's Intellectual Property laws are major barriers to the implementation of this initiative in the Indian legal realm. b) Financial & Accessibility Issues: The cost of first establishing and then maintaining these specialised courts can prove to be a financial hindrance on the government of the country. Secondly, the litigation costs are expected to be higher when taken for adjudication before specialised courts as compared to generic courts due to the legal representation which will be experts.
Even if the initiative is implemented by the government, such courts will be established in few and limited regions of the country for starters, making it unequal and difficult for individual creators and small scaled enterprises to access the benefits behind which the initiative was implemented. c) Tunnel Vision: Once implemented the court’s focus is expected to be narrowed down to just Intellectual Property related matters, overlooking the holistic view, that IP is often related with other realms of law like Trade law, Contract law and Consumer Protection law. Furthermore, a blind eye to just protection of intellectual property rights shall not be at the expense of public policy and welfare.
4 Such probabilities are what are currently, restricting the implementation of such courts in India, and must been properly addressed, if the initiative gets a green light for implementation into the Indian legal realm. Conclusion: Before concluding as to, when and where the specialised courts for IPR shall be established, the need of the hour is to first assess whether, establishing such courts will benefit the society more, or have drawbacks? Will such courts only hear civil IP disputes, or will criminal disputes also be adjudicated? Whether the initiative that has been successful in countries like China & Brazil, will bear the similar fruit if implemented in India? And last but not the least, if decided
4 Zimmer M, ‘(PDF) Overview of Specialized Courts’ (Overview Of Specialized Courts, August 2009)
accessed 15 July
to be implemented, to what extent can the limitations be mitigated for overall public welfare. It is a balance of competing attributes between the positives and negatives, whichever overpowers the other, shall influence the final decision, which will result in the arrival of specialised courts for Intellectual Property in the Indian landscape.