The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) was non-functional for almost 8 months following the superannuation of its chairman and the member technical (patents) in May last year. Non appointment of new Chairman immediately upon the superannuation of the leaving chairman was a setback to the appellate process. The ministry has provided assurances in the Parliament that the necessary steps are being taken to fill existing vacancies in the IPAB and to modernize and strengthen its infrastructure.
At the same time the Acting Chairman and Deputy Registrar of IPAB has initiated several administrative measures to streamline the process at the IPAB. In September, 2016 the Acting Chairman has directedfor the constitution of Deputy Registrar Court for administrative hearing for maintainability of appeal and revocation on account of procedural defects. Consequent to the said initiative, the Deputy Registrar has notified hearings in the matters where the procedural the parties have not completed the procedural steps. In addition to this, the Deputy Registrar has also notified the list of matters which have been declared abandoned due to incomplete procedures in respect of Trademarks(New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata)and PatentsAll these efforts are aimed to ensure speedy disposal of the pending matter soon after the appointment of new Chairman and Technical Member (Patents), so that the matters which are ripe for hearing can be instantly taken up for hearing and decided by the Board.