By Soumya Sehgal and Diksha Singh
In another welcome move, the Hon’ble Chairman of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), Justice Manmohan Singh, has issued an office order dated May 12, 2020[1] wherein owing to the ongoing national lockdown and the novel coronavirus outbreak, certain relaxations regarding otherwise stringent rules pertaining to filing of cases have been provided.
Procedure for e-filing of cases
| 1. | All counsels have been requested to file the fresh cases w.e.f. May 02, 2020 with a copy to the Respondent for the purpose of hearing of fresh matters to the Deputy Registrar at the email id – ipab.tn@nic.in |
| 2. | The condition of scanning of pleadings on green sheets has been exempted. |
| 3. | Parties/counsels have been allowed to file pleadings on A4 size papers for the time being |
| 4. | Withdrawal of all petitions and appeals for all zones except Delhi shall be listed |
| 5. | For urgent hearing, the Counsel/Advocate may file the petition alongwith miscellaneous petition for urgent hearing, as per the procedural rules |
A digitalized functioning of government offices and bodies is indeed the need of the hour, and it is refreshing to see that the IPAB is also embracing this trend gradually. The fact that the IPAB has taken a decision to conduct judicial work through video conferencing (vide office order dated May 11, 2020) has also come as a respite to all stakeholders, and has been lauded by counsels and the concerned parties alike.
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[1] https://ipab.gov.in/ipab_causelist/Office-Order-NO-03.pdf