SpicyIP Questionnaire on Interim Injunctions: Is it time for change?

I’ve been assisting Shamnad, for some weeks now, on a paper which attempts to examine the issue of interim injunctions in suits involving patent rights. The matter is of special importance in suits for patent infringement because patent rights are available for only a period of 20 years and since it would take Indian courts more than a couple of years to decide the case it is necessary that we have an effective mechanism for granting interim relief. However at the same time we must keep in mind that patents affect the entire society and not just the parties involved in the litigation. Hence even any interim relief should be granted after getting as close to the truth as possible. One such mechanism could be a mini-trial with summary procedures. Before we make any such policy recommendation we would like to hear the opinions of of those IP practitioners who have more experience in these matters. In a bid to lend some structure to such feedback we’ve come up with a short questionnaire (11 questions only) which we would like you to answer. You can email the completed questionnaires to Shamnad at [email protected]. We’re looking forward to hearing your views on the topic, so please do participate in this little exercise of ours and if in case the results are encouraging I am sure we can look forward to a ‘change’ in some of these laws. 

Questionnaire on interim injunctions

Name:

Field of practice: Copyright/Trademark/Patents/Designs/Geographical Indications

Court of Practice: High Court (Original Side)/District Court/City Civil Court

Name of city/District:

Does your H.C. have a special IP bench: Yes/No/N.A.

Are the judges on this bench specialists in IP: Yes/No/N.A.

1.) In your experience how long does a court of law take to grant/deny an interim injunction in a case involving intellectual property rights? Please specify separately, the time taken by the Court of First Instance and by the Court of Appeal.

1. Patents

2. Trademarks

3. Copyrights

4. Designs

2.) In your experience how often does a court of law grant an ex-parte interim injunction in a suit regarding intellectual property rights? (Please give answer in estimated percentages i.e. 50% of the time or 20% of the time)

1. Patents

2. Trademarks

3. Copyrights

4. Designs

3.) In your opinion what is the ideal time within which a court of law should decide upon (appellate stage included) an application for an interim injunction?

1. Patent cases

2. Trademark cases

3. Copyright Cases

4. Design cases

4.) In your opinion what are the main reasons attributable to the delay in deciding interim injunctions?

1. Patent cases

2. Trademark cases

3. Copyright cases

4. Design Cases

5.) In your experience how many of these cases virtually end after the grant/denial of an interim injunction i.e. the parties withdraw their suit after the interim order?

1. Patent cases

2. Trademark cases

3. Copyright cases

4. Design Cases

6.) In how many of these cases has the Court conducted a mini-trial at the interim stage itself? (By mini-trials we refer to those cases where the Court begins to delve into substantial questions of evidence at the interim stage itself.)

1. Patent cases

2. Trademark cases

3. Copyright cases

4. Design cases

7.) In your opinion should the law be amended to allow for mini-trials/summary procedure, in cases of patent infringement, since patents are valid for only 20 years? In your opinion what should such a mini-trial entail?

8.) In how many of these cases has the Court followed the ‘triable issue’ standard laid down by the House of Lords in the American Cynamide case? Please specify whether the case was in regards a patent/trademark/copyright.

9.) In how many of these cases has the Court followed the conventional ‘prima facie’ standard? Please specify whether the case was in regards a patent/trademark/copyright.

10.) In your experience how long does a Court of law take to conclude a full trial in a case involving a violation of intellectual property rights? Also, please specify whether the trial has been concluded on the Original Side of the High Court or in a Civil Court/District Court.

1. Patent cases

2. Trademark cases

3. Copyright cases

4. Design cases

11. In your experience how effective has the IPAB been in fulfilling its objectives? Is the IPAB more efficient than a normal Civil Court/High Court/District Court?