Civil and criminal remedies across IP types
Civil remedies -- injunctions, damages or an account of profits, and delivery-up of infringing goods -- are
available across trademark, copyright, and patent law, along with well-established Indian court practices like
search-and-seizure orders and orders against unknown infringers in cases such as film piracy or counterfeit
goods. Criminal remedies exist for trademark infringement (Sections 103-105, Trade Marks Act) and copyright
infringement (Sections 63-64, Copyright Act), including police powers of seizure without a warrant for certain
offences -- but patent infringement in India is a civil-only regime with no criminal remedy.
The abolition of the IPAB in 2021
The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), which had heard appeals from the Trade Marks Registry,
Patent Office, Copyright Board, and GI Registry since 2003, was abolished by the Tribunals Reforms
(Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021, later replaced by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021.
Its powers were transferred to the High Courts -- the Delhi High Court in particular set up a dedicated
Intellectual Property Division (IPD) to handle the resulting caseload, a model since followed to varying
degrees by other High Courts. Original infringement suits (as distinct from appeals from a Registry decision)
continue to be filed before District Courts or Commercial Courts designated under the Commercial Courts Act,
2015, with further appeal to the High Court’s Commercial Appellate Division.
Border enforcement -- customs recordation
Under the IP Rights (Imported Goods) Enforcement Rules, 2007, made under the Customs Act, 1962, a
trademark, copyright, patent, or design owner can record their IP with Indian Customs through an online
recordation portal, providing details to distinguish genuine goods from suspected counterfeits. Once recorded,
customs officers can suspend clearance of suspected infringing goods at the border on their own initiative and
notify the right-holder, who must then confirm infringement within a prescribed window for the goods to be
seized -- a border-enforcement mechanism that operates alongside, not instead of, civil and criminal court
remedies.
Where do I file a trademark or patent infringement lawsuit in India today?
Original infringement suits are filed before a District Court or a designated Commercial Court under the
Commercial Courts Act, 2015, not before the IPAB, which was abolished in 2021 -- appeals from Registry
decisions (as opposed to fresh infringement suits) now go to the relevant High Court instead.
Can patent infringement in India result in criminal prosecution?
No -- unlike trademark and copyright infringement, which carry criminal remedies in addition to civil ones,
patent infringement in India is a civil-only matter, with remedies limited to injunctions and monetary relief
such as damages or an account of profits.
How can I stop counterfeit goods bearing my trademark from entering India?
You can record your trademark (or other IP right) with Indian Customs under the IP Rights (Imported Goods)
Enforcement Rules, 2007, which allows customs officers to suspend clearance of suspected infringing shipments
at the border and notify you, in addition to pursuing ordinary civil or criminal infringement remedies once
goods are already in the market.
