"Calcutta High Court Becomes India's Third HC With Specialised Division To Hear Intellectual Property Cases"

The Calcutta High Court has become the third High Court in India, after Madras and Delhi, to have a dedicated bench for handling Intellectual Property (IP) cases. Although the court announced draft IP rules in 2023, the final rules are now in place, and the new bench will start hearing IP cases in November. Calcutta High Court, the oldest in India, has the authority to directly handle commercial cases like IP disputes due to its original jurisdiction. However, until now, it didn't have a specialized bench for these matters. Since the Intellectual Property Appellate Board was dissolved in 2021, many IP cases were transferred to the Calcutta High Court, assigned to judges based on their expertise. The court plans to begin hearing IP cases after it reopens following the Puja vacation, even though the official inauguration of the new division is still pending. With this specialized division, IP cases are expected to be resolved more quickly and effectively by judges with expertise in the field. www.legalmeet.in