Delhi High Court Judge Justice Pratibha Singh’s book on patent law has been the center of attraction since its launch this Saturday. The union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with other foreign dignitaries launched the book. The book on patent law is published by Thomson Reuters and is launched at the Bharat Mantappam Pragati Maidan. Former judge of the federal court of Australia Sydney Annabelle Bennett, Colin Birss the lord justice at the Court of Appeal England and Wales, and Klaus Grabinski the president of unified Patent core EU Luxembourg were also present at the book launch. Justice Pratibha Singh started writing the book in 2015 along with her service as a judge in the Delhi High Court in 2017.
‘This book on patent law has been the culmination of a long and arduous journey that began around the time when I was designated a Senior Advocate in December 2013. At that time, Mr.Arun Jaitley and Mr.Harish Salve, who had argued landmark patent cases, nudged me to write a book on Patents, and I am always grateful to them for this,’ the acknowledgement of the book reads.
In the book, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her address mentioned the BJP government in 2015 set up a thinktank to look at intellectual property rights and law in India in which Justice Pratibha Singh was an active member and contributed immensely. She also appreciated the Delhi High Court for specifically having an IP division and handling intellectual property rights matters effectively.
‘It shows that there is a will there is a way and the Delhi High Court overcame all the difficulties that it faced to set up this bench and that bench proved that it was efficient in clearing up the backlog, streamlining the way it was being handled, and give confidence that it doesn’t matter that there is a backlog but if it is a dedicated bench, things can move, and especially with the interest in commercial matters, and also in India, the policy going towards greater innovations. greater copyright and greater trademark registrations within India’ – Union finance minister Mrs Nirmala Sitaraman
Further in her address, she mentioned that in India the intellectual property laws and policies are given a push that supports the fields of research and development helping them in patenting and innovations happening at a much bigger scale in the country presently.
She went on to add ‘So the IPR laws, we are trying to make them as a facilitator, booster, and not a barrier in the process of R&D. We’ve taken quite a few steps and I singularly thank the honourable Prime Minister for this particular policy, which after a lot of consultation has come up in 2016. A few things were taken up soon after that,’
She also appreciated the chief justice’s contribution to this particular sector and how it stands out in the Indian IPR ecosystem. She openly appreciated the government policy and how courts have handled the intellectual property rights matter.
It is indeed a very big contribution that Justice Pratibha Singh has made to the IP sector. Her contribution to this particular aspect will help in developing trackability with the help of technology. Nirmala Sitaraman further added that this book is going to be there for several hundred years as a core reference material for intellectual property. She also wished the justice the very best. She further added that justice Pratibha Singh has got the right mix of a practising judicial officer and a strategic thinker in a very legal sense. Justice Pratibha Singh in her address added that more than 1100 independent judgements have reviewed the book out of which 500 of them have been cited in the book.
‘None of us knew that there were so many judgments in Indian patents and all the judges whose judgments are cited in the book… One of the features of this book, if you look at the brochure that’s been circulated, is to list all of these judges. There are a total of 176 judges from India and some judges from abroad whose names are found in the book…because the reports with the legislative history and the judges and their judgments, were not available in one place,’- Justice Singh said.
She went on to add that India is in a unique position in intellectual property and that we create one of the largest quantums of copyrighted works annually. There has been a drastic change in the innovation landscape and we as Indians are innovating more and patenting more when compared to the bypassed years.
She also advised young lawyers to write and publish more papers in the field of intellectual property rights and Pharma. Patents are crucial for incentivizing innovation and benefiting the society and the world.
‘Patent owners have to therefore be conscious of their role of ensuring the greater good. The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that innovation, patents, and enabling access to innovation are of crucial importance for the benefit of humankind. Thus, in the context of more and more diseases, health constraints that affect human beings are also issues concerning climate change. There is a need to strive for Responsible IP. It can’t just be IP, it has to be responsible IP,” she said.
We appreciate her contribution to the field of intellectual property rights. As a firm that helps innovators and businesses to secure their intellectual property in India, we know the entry cases and the legal complex cities involved. Our team despite making it simple filing and trademarking intellectual property still is a complex task. Get in touch with our experts right away for any intellectual property disputes or filing.
- Germany Bans Oneplus Smartphones Over 5G Patent Disputes - October 4, 2024
- DC and Marvel Lose Trademark Rights to ‘Superhero’ - October 4, 2024
- Ravi Ahuja Appointed as CEO of Sony Pictures - October 4, 2024
