Following the recommendation of the Intellectual Property committee constituted by High Court of Madras, an Intellectual Property Division (IPD) has been created in the High Court to deal with matters relating to Intellectual Property Rights. The Madras High Court is only the second in the country, with Delhi High Court being the first, to establish an IPD. The much awaited Madras High Court IPR Division Rules have also been published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette on April 5, 2023.

The Draft IPR Division Rules were framed and approved by the Court on July 7, 2022. On October 26, 2022 the Registry had also notified the State Government to issue a notification of the Rules in the official Gazette. After a substantial delay, and further intervention of the Court, the State Government has issued the notification in the Gazette.

The IPD of the Madras High Court may be presided over by a Single Judge or a Division Bench, as the case may be. The IPD will begin processing and hearing all IPR matters, including Civil suits, Original Revocation or Cancellation petitions, Arbitration proceedings, Appeals, Writs, and all pending proceedings filed before the erstwhile Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB). The cases transferred to the Madras High Court from the IPAB will be renumbered and listed before the IPD without levying any fresh or additional court fees. More than 2000 cases are transferred from the IPAB to the Madras High Court after the abolition of the IPAB. However, it is expected that the IPD, being acutely aware of the time sensitive nature of most IPR matters, will dispose cases at a fast pace.

The creation of the Madras High Court IPD and framing of the IPR Division Rules will facilitate speedy and effective adjudications, especially for Appellants who have been awaiting listing of their cases that were filed before the erstwhile IPAB.

Court order: Press release-2

Author: Anand Barnabas