Apple is set to start manufacturing iPhone's in India and with other companies like Xiomi, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Huawei, Rolls-Royce etc. already set units in India. It has become more imminent for its IPR to give these foreign players same sense of security and competitive edge they enjoy back at home.
India should acquire largely from German system all its advantages with selected portions from US law and China to become a preferred forum for patent litigation. India should set up specialized IP courts where judges get good technical assistance and are fair and swift. Depending on the complexity and case pendency, parties should be allowed to choose their venue. Injunction's should be granted much more often and pre-trail assist freezing provisions should be available to plaintiff's. Like China, parties should expect to come to trial 6-14 months after filing*.
One good attribute of Indian courts is low cost of patent litigation inmost cases one-tenth of US or German patent litigation. However, to make patent litigation attractive India should pose high win rate of 70%-90% in favor of plaintiff's and more for foreign plaintiff's if they take great care before filling in india and do their search and homework right.
These characteristics can create a strong patent enforcement system in india and patent infringement in India can mean some real bad news for the infringers.
Aseem Chadha
Promax Legal
*makeinindia.com
*iam
