Staff of Appellate Board

(1) The Central Government shall determine the nature and categories of the officers and other employees required to assist the Appellate Board in the discharge of its functions under this Act and provide the Appellate Board with such officers and other employees as it may think fit.

(2) The salaries and allowances and conditions of service of the officers and other employees of the Appellate Board shall be such as may be prescribed.

(3) The officers and other employees of the Appellate Board shall discharge their functions under the general superintendence of the Chairman of the Appellate Board in the manner as may be prescribed.

117A. Appeals to Appellate Board.—(1) Save as otherwise expressly provided in sub-section (2), no appeal shall lie from any decision, order or direction made or issued under this Act by the Central Government, or from any act or order of the Controller for the purpose of giving effect to any such decision, order or direction.

(2) An appeal shall lie to the Appellate Board from any decision, order or direction of the Controller or Central Government under section 15, section 16, section 17, section 18, section 19,section 20, sub-section (4) of section 25, section 28, section 51, section 54, section 57, section 60, section 61, section 63, section 66, sub-section (3) of section 69, section 78, sub-sections (1) to (5) of section 84, section 85, section 88, section 91, section 92 and section 94.

(3) Every appeal under this section shall be in the prescribed form and shall be verified in such manner as may be prescribed and shall be accompanied by a copy of the decision, order or direction appealed against and by such fees as may be prescribed.

(4) Every appeal shall be made within three months from the date of the decision, order or direction, as the case may be, of the Controller or the Central Government or within such further time as the Appellate Board may, in accordance with the rules made by it allow.

117B. Procedure and powers of Appellate Board.—The provisions of sub­sections (2) to (6) of section 84, section 87, section 92, section 95 and section 96 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 (47 of 1999) shall apply to the Appellate Board in the discharge of its functions under this Act as they apply to it in the discharge of its functions under the Trade Marks Act, 1999.

117C. Bar of jurisdiction of courts, etc.—No court or other authority shall have or, be entitled to, exercise any jurisdiction, powers or authority in relation to the matters referred to in sub-section (2) of section 117A or section 117D.

117D. Procedure for application for rectification, etc., before Appellate Board.—(1) An application for revocation of a patent before the Appellate Board under section 64 and an application for rectification of the register made to the Appellate Board under section 71 shall be in such form as may be prescribed.

(2) A certified copy of every order or judgment of the Appellate Board relating to a patent under this Act shall be communicated to the Controller by the Board and the Controller shall give effect to the order of the Board and shall, when so directed, amend the entries in, or rectify, the register in accordance with such order.

117E. Appearance of Controller in legal proceedings.—(1) The Controller shall have the right to appear and be heard—

      (a) in any legal proceedings before the Appellate Board in which the relief sought includes alteration or rectification of the register or in which any question relating to the practice of the patent office is raised;

      (b) in any appeal to the Appellate Board from an order of the Controller on an application for grant of a patent—

            (i) which is not opposed, and the application is either refused by the Controller or is accepted by him subject to any amendments, modifications, conditions or limitations, or

            (ii) which has been opposed and the Controller considers that his appearance is necessary in the public interest,

and the Controller shall appear in any case if so directed by the Appellate Board.

(2) Unless the Appellate Board otherwise directs, the Controller may, in lieu of appearing, submit a statement in writing signed by him, giving such particulars as he thinks proper of the proceedings before him relating to the matter in issue or of the grounds of any decision given by him or of the practice of the patent office in like cases, or of other matters relevant to the issues and within his knowledge as the Controller may deem it necessary, and such statement shall be evidence in the proceeding.

117F. Costs of Controller in proceedings before Appellate Board.—In all proceedings under this Act before the Appellate Board, the costs of the Controller shall be in the discretion of the Board, but the Controller shall not be ordered to pay the costs of any of the parties.

117G. Transfer of pending proceedings to Appellate Board.—All cases of appeals against any order or decision of the Controller and all cases pertaining to revocation of patent other than on a counter-claim in a suit for infringement and rectification of register pending before any High Court, shall be transferred to the Appellate Board from such date as may be notified by the Central Government in the Official Gazette and the Appellate Board may proceed with the matter either de novo or from the stage it was so transferred.

117H. Power of Appellate Board to make rules.—The Appellate Board may make rules consistent with this Act as to the conduct and procedure in respect of all proceedings before it under this Act.