Misleading ads: Delhi High Court orders framing code of conduct to regulate patent and trademark agents

The Delhi High Court on Thursday took note of the rampant solicitation, misleading advertisements and negligence by the trademark and patent agents and ordered the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trademark (CGPTDM) to frame a code of conduct to regulate such agents [Saurav Chaudhary v Union of India & Anr]..Justice Prathiba M Singh said that while it may not be illegal for patent, trademark and other similar agents to have a website giving contact details and other material relating to their services, the pamphlets promising registrations in a day or giving ‘special offers’, have a larger bearing on clients and applicants who may be availing services.Hence, it ordered that the CGPDTM shall conduct a stakeholder consultation and put in place a proper mechanism including guidelines for regulating the conduct of patent agents and trademark Agents.The guidelines should clarify what would constitute professional misconduct and professional negligence and must also put in place a mechanism for filing complaints..The Court issued the following directions:.A draft Code of Conduct to regulate Patent and Trademark Agents be prepared and put up by the CGPDTM on its website within two months for stakeholder consultation. The Code of Conduct be then, thereafter, be notified within a period of 6 months from now i.e., latest by 31st December, 2024;Within the said period, a framework be also put in place for dealing with complaints against Trademark Agents and Patent Agents, until then if any complaint is filed against any Trademark or Patent Agent before the office of the CGPDTM the same shall be considered and decided by ad-hoc Committee consisting of at least two officials from the trademark/patent office and one senior IP practitioner with at least 15 years of practise as also registered as a Patent/Trademark Agent. The ad-hoc Committee be notified within two months..The Court passed these directions while dealing with a plea filed by one Saurav Chaudhary challenging the abandonment of a patent application titled “Blind-Stitch Sewing Machine and Method of Blind Stitching”.Chaudhary had engaged the services of a firm named Delhi Intellectual Property LLP for filing the patent application. Soon, the firm did not respond to his queries and his patent application was deemed to be abandoned..After considering the case, Justice Singh set aside the abandonment order and asked the patent office to proceed with Chaudhary’s application in accordance with law.The Court further asked the office of CGPDTM to hold an inquiry against the patent agent engaged by Chaudhary.“The enquiry shall be conducted and concluded within a period of four months from now. The present order shall be deemed to be a notice to the Patent Agent to explain to the CGPDTM’s office his stand. A personal hearing shall also be afforded and an order shall be passed within a period of four months from now,” the Court ordered..Advocates Neeraj Grover, Meenakshi Ogra, Tarun Khurana, Samrat S Kang, Rishi Vohra, Hemant Kataria, Chhavi Pandey and Amarjeet Kumar appeared for petitioner Saurav Chaudhary..Union of India was represented through Central Government Standing Counsel Nidhi Raman.Senior Advocate Chander M Lall along with advocates Nancy Roy, Archana Sachdeva, Sushant M Singh, Kruttika Vijay, Raghav Malik, Ananya Chug and Sushant Singh appeared for intervenor Intellectual Property Attorneys' Association (IPAA)..[Read Judgment]