India’s IP office to pilot mediation programme in effort to clear opposition backlog

The Trademarks Registry in India is trialling a mediation initiative aimed at reducing pendency, with the test cases including oppositions that have been held up for nearly 20 years. Meanwhile, efforts to improve efficiency in the courts are continuing apace – a ruling last week clarified a key jurisdictional question about which IP cases will be heard by the country’s new commercial divisions at the High Court level.