Relying on specialists

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Debate on wisdom of specialised courts returns

It is no surprise that the recent scrapping of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) – a tribunal that decided on appeals from the patent and trademark office, among others – has been met with mixed reactions. While many lament the narrowing of avenues for the resolution of what are often complex and lengthy intellectual property disputes, some have cheered what they see as the end of an unsuccessful experiment with an inherently flawed specialised court.

With longstanding bottlenecks in courts across India exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic, any curtailing of capacity is problematic. Yet there is little doubt that the IPAB had punched below its weight. To add to this are the concerns about the wisdom of specialist courts. Is it right to assume that specialists, who have mastery over the micro-environment of an IP dispute, are better suited to mete out justice than generalist judges who have the vision to see the bigger picture?

IP law, and for that matter any other specialist area of law, are after all part of the larger body of law. As such, it has long been argued that judges, who are well versed with navigating the intricacies of difficult corporate and other disputes, can be expected to get to grips with the specifics of a difficult IP law-related battle. Chances are that they would do so with great aplomb, and without succumbing to the treacherous currents caused by technical details that lie just below the surface. Be that as it may, with more than 400 judicial vacancies in India’s high courts alone there are not enough judges – but that is a different matter.

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