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Economy
Mahesh

16/08/24 11:08 AM IST

Patent and trademark grants under scrutiny

In News
  • The Calcutta High Court has recently declared that employing contractual workers for performing “quasi-judicial functions” in the patents and trademark office is unlawful.
The High Court ruling
  • The Calcutta High Court’s decision was rendered in a case where a trademark opposition order issued by an Associate Manager of Trademarks was under challenge.
  • The court was apprised that the officer in question had been hired as a Hearing Officer in the Trade Marks Registry on a purely contractual basis, with the contract set to expire on March 31, 2023.
  • It was also pointed out that the appointment letter clearly stipulated that no further continuation of employment beyond March 31 could be claimed.
  • After perusal of the evidence on record, Justice Krishna Rao noted that the impugned order was issued by the Associate Manager on September 16, 2023, despite his service tenure ending on March 31.
  • “The respondents have not produced any order to establish that his engagement was extended beyond May 31, 2023 and he was the Associate Manager on September 16, 2023,” the judge recorded in the verdict.
  • The court further observed that the powers conferred under Section 3(2) of the 1999 Act are strictly administrative in nature and thus Associate Managers appointed under this provision do not have the authority to perform quasi-judicial functions.
  • “The Registrar dealing with an application under the Trade Marks Act is a quasi judicial and delegation of power under sub-section (2) of Section 3 is an administrative power and as such the Associate Managers appointed under sub-section 2 of Section 3 are not empowered to pass quasi judicial orders”, Justice Rao underscored. 
Patent applications
  • India has seen a surge in patent applications over the past few years. In FY2023, the country recorded 83,000 patent filings, reflecting a 24.6% annual growth rate, the highest in two decades, according to the Patenting Trends report released in April.
  • Similarly, the Annual Report for 2022-2023 from the Office of the Controller General shows that 231,977 trademarks were registered in 2022-23, compared to 26,408 in 2021-22.
  • Despite these record filings, the operations of the CGPDTM have been plagued by allegations of corruption and procedural inconsistencies. 
  • The government will have to appoint qualified officers under the 1999 Act.
  • These officers cannot simply validate non-speaking orders (orders that lack reasoning for the acceptance, refusal or conditional acceptance of a trademark/patent application).
  • For such orders, the officers will have to conduct hearings afresh.
Source- The Hindu

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