The IPAB has been announcing a number of changes to its procedures and rules, in a manner which streamlines and makes more efficient the litigation before the IPAB. Most interestingly, the IPAB has also announced a new new logo and slogan (accompanying image). I extract the following announcement, dated 15th September, 2011 from the IPAB’s website explaining the logo and the slogan:
The Intellectual Property Appellate Board has great pleasure in releasing the new Logo and the Slogan. The logo and the slogan express the aim and endeavour of the Board to make it a model Tribunal. The upward slope of the ‘A’ connotes the aim to attain excellence. The national colours have been chosen to show that our adjudication will be rooted in the Constitution and the small balance in the ‘A’ indicates that IPAB will perform its role of balancing the individual interest with the social/public interest. The motto reads as “balancing ip – protection”.
This is a small but a wonderfully symbolic initiative on the part of the IPAB to assure the IP community that it has every intention of shaking off its past lethargy. One only hopes that the Government supports the IPAB in delivering justice because as we all know the IPAB is working with the bare minimum resources.
One of the items on my wishlist is that the IPAB revamp its website to function more like the Gujarat High Court website, which is one of the most superbly efficient website and please don’t try to link this to Modi, he has no control over the High Court. As of now it is almost impossible for those of us on the blog to even get the case number of existing petitions before the IPAB.
Let us hope the IPAB is proved to be a Model Tribunal. Of course we have seen changes in the functioning of IPAB upon joining of Justice Prabha Sridevan. BUT ONE THING, if there are any MPs (Miscellaneous petitions) pending, they are not given special importance irrespective of the relief claimed in the MP. There may be cases where the order passed in an MP may be challenged before the Hon’ble High Court or Supreme Court, but then the IPAB insists on the hearing of the main case invariably whenever the case is fixed. This is in the guise that the IPAB should work in summary procedure manner. True, but that does not mean that there cannot be any MPs or that ALL the Mps are to be heard and decided ALONGWITH the main petition irrespective of their contents, merits and reliefs claimed. If the main case is heard on the same day when the MP is heard and decided against a party who wants to challenged the order passed in MP, he may be a sufferer. True the order passed in MP can be challenged with the main order, but then there may be circumstances that the very purpose of the MP may be defeated if the arguments in the main case have been heard and main case decided.
I also agree that it is almost impossible for those of us on the blog to even get the case number of existing petitions before the IPAB. In fact such trivial and lousy objections are taken at the time of scrutiny that we think as if the registry of IPAB has nothing else to do but to somehow find out the alleged faults in the petitions and other papers filed before IPAB.I have not come across even a single petition which has been cleared by the registry as without any objections whatsoever and the case number has been allotted. Lot of time is taken even in scrutinizing the petitions.
One of the bizarre objections that the registry is putting is that the vakalatnama should be signed by all the advocates whose names appear on it.
There is a provision in the IPAB Procedure Rules to provide the copy of each order passed by the Hon’ble IPAB free of cost, but it is not done. One has to ask for it.
The website sucks. See the way copies of orders are stacked in the website. It says loudly ‘I don’t care a damn’
Clicking on the logo gives some strange error – 404 resource blah blah
numerous other errors…….
even bombay high court website has been recently done up. I find it better than gujarat high court website. (no political undertones)
Logo is not the important matter now. Proper and fast clearance of cases, particularly patent matters, is of great importance to the nation as well as the inventors and the patent holders. I feel the chairman is wasting time in creating a logo for IPAB while the vice chairman has wasted more than 8 months doing nothing. First you clean up the house and show work output, efficiency, but not doing only creation of logo! Do some thing which is very constructive and what is more necessary for the organization and the IP right holders.