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At-a-glance: Intellectual Property Office Intellectual Property Office Building, Plot No 32, Sector 14, Dwarka, New Delhi-110075, India Tel: +91 11 28034304 Fax: +91 11 28034301 Email: delhi-patent@nic.in Website: www.patentoffice.nic.in "We... [more]

"We have a growing IP market and there are very encouraging signs all round," says one optimistic IP lawyer. The opinion of most practitioners is that the imminent adoption of the Madrid Protocol will "no doubt affect numbers," but is a step forward for IP law in the country. The change is expected to come into effect within a year. Other changes in trade mark law include the adoption of all 45 international classes. Classes 43, 44 and 45 were merged with class 42 previously, and now require separate applications.

Much of the attention has been focused on the yet-to-be-ratified Copyright Amendment Bill 2010. The proposed bill is seen to "bring copyright law more in line with the WIPO Internet Treaties," explains a lawyer. Some of the more notable changes include a revision of authorship rights for lyricists, composers and singers in films, addressing concerns from music companies regarding versions of sound recordings, changing the term of protection for photographers from 60 years to lifetime plus 60 years, a separation of profit and non-profit rental of films, provisions for special formats like Braille text, talking text for those with special needs, and provisions for statutory licensing for broadcasters.

The patent and trade mark offices' transition to becoming fully electronic has been met with much approval and "makes life easier", says a practitioner. "It's a big step," he continues: "This now exposes them to more transparency and requires them to be more responsive." There have been issues of inaccuracy within the databases, but market observers note that this is now more of an exception.

A trend observed by lawyers is the increasing importance of patent litigation. "This will be a fairly lucrative area of our practice in the coming years," a lawyer says. "We're definitely looking to expand in that area." While the numbers may not reflect this growing attention, a lawyer explains: "It's a matter of higher profile matters, mostly in the pharmaceutical area. The press picks up on it, which helps to raise profile."

"There has been an increase in patent registration," says a lawyer. The patent office has speeded up to try and deal with the increased workload. "The backlog is being cleared, and examination and patent granting is going faster," explains an IP professional.

"People are being educated. They are starting to appreciate IP law in the right perspective. This has been met by increased IP expertise in the district and high courts, where each case is to be examined on its own merit," says a lawyer, "We're getting good results from these other courts, which are catching up to the level of analysis provided by the Delhi High Court. "There is a growing awareness of geographical indications in the country, which bodes well for community interests and the protection of these assets," observes another practitioner.

There is some debate surrounding the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), which has struggled to keep its promise of providing relief to the overworked courts. With only two members on the board, the IPAB has come under some scrutiny with regards to its efficiency and relevance. In January 2011, the Madras High Court admitted a public interest litigation petition that challenges the constitutionality of the IPAB.