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August 21, 2021

Summary: ‘Review Of The Intellectual Property Rights Regime In India (Parliamentary Standing Committee Report No. 161) – Section On Trade Marks Act, 1999, (pp: 59-64)’ (Parliamentary Standing Committee On Commerce)

Author: Anjuri Saxena

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce tabled the 161st Report on the Review of the Intellectual Property Rights Regime in India on 23rd July, 2021. The Report in light of the increasing importance of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) observed and analysed the current IPR scenario in India and the challenges involved in strengthening the IPR regime.

Under the section concerning the review of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 after taking into account the suggestions by various stakeholders, the Report made recommendations on various fronts. The Report recommended that the Trademarks Department should introduce new categories of classifications in consonance with the developing requirements of industry and trade. Furthermore, such categories should be detailed and specific to avoid convoluted interpretations. While acknowledging the need for speedy grants of trademark registration, the Report recommended that the period for which application remains published and open for third-party objections should be reduced from 4 to 2.

The Report heralded the importance of using technology to make the working of the Trademarks Registry more efficient. It recommended that the Trademarks Department should take up initiatives to make the offices more modern and digital so that speedy redressal of work can also take place. A crucial point of consideration in the Report was Section 115(4) of the Trade Marks Act which deals with the cognizance of offences. As per this section, a police officer having a rank not less than the Deputy Superintendent of 

Police (DSP) is mandated to evaluate the existence of risk of an infringement and also the enforcement actions. Furthermore, such officers are also supposed to take the opinion of the Registrar of Trademarks before initiating any action. Attention was brought to the fact that a senior officer at the level of DSP is often burdened with other administrative and supervisory work and thus, is unable to conduct the required investigations timely. The Report in view of this recommended that the procedure set out in Section 115 of the Trade Marks Act should be simplified to expedite investigations. It was also recommended that one or more well-trained police officers having specialized knowledge of IP crimes should be deployed in place of a high ranking officer.

The Report also recommended that a separate category for Export Oriented Units (EoU) products should be made, so that such products could get their trademark registrations on a priority basis and contribute effectively to the national economy by timely export of the EoU products. 

Disclaimer: Views, opinions, interpretations are solely those of the author, not of the firm (ALG India Law Offices LLP) nor reflective thereof. Author submissions are not checked for plagiarism or any other aspect before being posted.

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