Abolishment Of IPAB: Changes To The IP Regime

Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) was constituted by the Central Government on 15 September 2003, to hears appeals against the decisions of Registrar under the Trade Mark Act, 1999 and the Geographical Indications of Goods Act (Registration and Protection), 1999.¹ After four years, in 2007 the IPAB jurisdiction was extended to the Patents Act, 1970. Later through the Finance Act in 2017, it was further extended to the Copyright Act, 1957. IPAB was created with an objective to bring together the best set of expertise in the IP regime through technical members possessing technical and scientific knowledge sue to which it has delivered various landmark judgment However, it also succumbed to various difficulties due to being non-functional on account of lack of technical manners for various years, which lead to pendency and delay of matters.