Intellectual Property laws decriminalized and amended vide Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 w.e.f. 01-08-2024

Through the enforcement of certain provisions of the Schedule to the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, various provisions in different Intellectual Property Rights legislations have been amended. The provisions related to patents, trade marks, geographical indications, and copyright laws came into effect on 01-08-2024 through notifications published by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 26-07-2024 and 29-07-2024.

Key Points:

• The Patent Act, 1970

  1. The extension of penalty for ‘Unauthorized claim of patent rights’ under Section 120 has been increased to 10 lakh rupees along with a further penalty of 1000 rupees for every day in case of continuing claim. Earlier, the penalty could be extended up to 1 lakh rupees.

  2. Section 121 which provided the punishment for wrongful use of the words ‘patent office’ has now been omitted.

  3. The extension of penalty for ‘Refusal or failure to supply information’ to the Central Government or the Controller under Section 122(1) has been reduced to 1 lakh rupees along with a further penalty of 1000 rupees for every day during which such refusal or failure continues. Earlier, the fine could be extended up to 10 lakh rupees.

  4. The offence of furnishing false information as mentioned in Section 122(2) has been decriminalized and now the offender would be liable to a penalty of 0.5% of the total sales or turnover of the business or gross receipts in the audited accounts or a sum equal to 5 crore rupees, whichever is less. Earlier, the offender would have to face imprisonment which could be extended up to six months.

  5. As per the amendment in the penalty for contravention of Section 129 as mentioned in Section 123, a person may be liable to a penalty that may extend to 5 lakh rupees along with a further penalty of 1000 rupees for every day in case of continuing default. Earlier, the offender had to pay a fine of 1 lakh rupees in case of first offence and 5 lakh rupees in case of subsequent offence.

  6. Section 124(A), a new provision, has been introduced for the ‘Adjudication of Penalties’ wherein the Controller may authorize an officer to be the adjudicating officer for holding an inquiry and imposing penalty.

  7. A new provision for ‘Appeal’ namely Section 124(B) has been introduced for providing an opportunity to a person aggrieved by the order of the adjudicating officer under Section 124(A) to prefer an appeal before the appellate authority.

  8. By way of amendment, two new clauses have been added in Section 159(2) after clause (xiii) by which the Central Government may now make rules for the manner of holding inquiry and imposing penalty under Section 124(A), as well as the form and manner of preferring appeal under sub-section (2) of Section 124(B).

• The Trade Mark Act, 1999

  1. Section 106 which provided for the penalty for removing piece goods, etc. contrary to Section 81 has been omitted.

  2. The offence of falsely representing a trade mark as registered has been decriminalized and now, the penalty as per Section 107(2) is a sum equal to 0.5% of the total sales or turnover in the business or of the gross receipts as computed in the audited accounts or a sum equal to 5 lakh rupees, whichever is less.

  3. Section 108, which provided the penalty for improperly describing a place of business as connected with the Trade Marks Office, has been omitted and hence, the offence has been decriminalized.

  4. Section 109, which provided the penalty for falsification of entries in the register, has been omitted and hence, the offence has been decriminalized.

  5. Section 112A, a new provision, has been introduced for the ‘Adjudication of Penalties’ wherein the Registrar may authorize an officer to be the adjudicating officer for holding an inquiry and imposing penalty.

  6. A new provision for ‘Appeal’ namely Section 112B has been introduced for providing an opportunity to a person aggrieved by the order of the adjudicating officer under Section 112A to prefer an appeal before the appellate authority.

  7. By way of the amendment, the offence of failure to provide information regarding imported goods bearing false trade marks within fourteen days has been decriminalized and the offender shall now be liable to a penalty of ten thousand rupees as per Section 140(3).

  8. By way of amendment, two new clauses have been added in Section 157(2) after clause (xxxiii) by which the Central Government may now make rules for the manner of holding inquiry and imposing penalty under Section 112A, as well as the form and manner of preferring appeal under sub-section (2) of Section 112B.

• The Copyright Act, 1957

  1. Section 68, which provided for the disposal of infringing copies or plates for the purpose of making infringing copies, has now been omitted.

• The Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999

  1. Section 37A, a new provision, has been introduced for the ‘Adjudication of Penalties’ wherein the Registrar may authorize an officer to be the adjudicating officer for holding an inquiry and imposing penalty.

  2. A new provision for ‘Appeal’ namely Section 37B has been introduced for providing an opportunity to a person aggrieved by the order of the adjudicating officer under Section 37A to prefer an appeal before the appellate authority.

  3. The offence of falsely representing a geographical indication as registered has been decriminalized and now, the penalty as per Section 42(2) is a sum equal to 0.5% of the total sales or turnover in the business or of the gross receipts as computed in the audited accounts or a sum equal to 5 lakh rupees, whichever is less.

  4. Section 43, which provided the penalty for improperly describing a place of business as connected with the Geographical Indications Registry, has been omitted and hence, the offence has been decriminalized.

  5. Section 44, which provided the penalty for falsification of entries in the register, has been omitted and hence, the offence has been decriminalized.

  6. By way of amendment, two new clauses have been added in Section 87(2) after clause (o) by which the Central Government may now make rules for the manner of holding inquiry and imposing penalty under Section 37A, as well as the form and manner of preferring appeal under sub-section (2) of Section 37B.

Buy Trade Marks Act, 1999   HERE

Buy Patents Act, 1970  HERE