Hon'ble Ms. Justice
Prathiba Maninder Singh
Judge of Delhi High Court
Assumed office
15 May 2017
Nominated byJ. S. Khehar
Appointed byPranab Mukherjee
Personal details
Born (1968-07-20) 20 July 1968 (age 55)
Alma materBangalore University

Prathiba Maninder Singh (born 20 July 1968) is a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court, in India.[1] She has made significant contributions to academic literature and legal developments in Indian intellectual property law, as a practicing lawyer, and as an advisor to several legislative committees concerned with drafting related legislation.[2][3]

Personal life

Singh studied law at the University Law College in Bengaluru, Karnataka, and obtained an LL.M. from the University of Cambridge on a Cambridge Commonwealth Trust scholarship.[1] In 2013, she established the Prathiba Singh Scholarship for LL.M candidates at the University of Cambridge, to provide financial support to Indian students who were studying for a Masters in Law.[4]

She is married to former Additional Solicitor General of India, Maninder Singh.[citation needed]

Career

Litigation

Singh joined the bar in 1991 and practiced primarily in the field of intellectual property law, acting as the managing partner in a law firm. She was appointed by the Delhi High Court to consult with them to improve the functioning of the Copyright Office, and also consulted with a High Level Parliamentary Panel on streamlining the patent examination process in India. She has also provided expert advice to parliamentary committees on proposed amendments to intellectual property laws in India, including the Patents Act, and Copyright Amendment Act, 2012.[5] Singh was also a member of a panel that was constituted to draft India's National Intellectual Rights Policy in 2014.[6]

In 2013, Singh notably represented Cipla against Novartis in Novartis v. Union of India & Others, in a case that established Cipla's right to produce generic versions of cancer medication patented by Novartis.[7][8] The case was widely reported and is significant in intellectual property jurisprudence in India.[9][10] In 2016, Singh represented the petitioners in a case filed against instant messaging service, WhatsApp, in which the Delhi High Court ordered WhatsApp to remove user information belonging to those who had deleted their WhatsApp accounts in anticipation of changes to WhatsApp's privacy policy.[11][12][13]

Singh was appointed a senior counsel by the Delhi High Court in 2013.[2]

In her capacity as the president of the Asian Patent Attorney Association, Singh had filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court, challenging the limited amount of resources that were allocated to the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), and following directions from the court in her petition, a permanent office for the IPAB was established in Delhi.[14][15]

Judiciary

Singh was appointed a permanent judge in the Delhi High Court on 15 May 2017.[1] In 2019, Singh issued an order criticising the functioning of the Indian Intellectual Property Appellate Board, calling for reforms and restructuring.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c "CJ and Sitting Judges: Justice Prathiba M. Singh". Delhi High Court.
  2. ^ a b "Prathiba M Singh | Our partners". www.cambridgetrust.org. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  3. ^ Johri, Monalisa, Yash (10 June 2014). "India is game-changer in patent law: Prathiba M. Singh". mint. Retrieved 22 October 2020.((cite web)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Prathiba M Singh Cambridge Scholarship | Scholarships | Cambridge Trusts". www.cambridgetrust.org. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Judging Matters- Business News". www.businesstoday.in. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  6. ^ "DIPP sets up think tank to draft national Intellectual Property Rights policy". The Economic Times. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  7. ^ Singh, Khomba. "SC rejects Bayer's plea to stay Cipla's cancer clone". The Economic Times. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  8. ^ Mishra, Prabhati Nayak (9 April 2017). "Pratibha Singh & Rekha Palli: Meet The Two Women Lawyers Who Are Going To Be Delhi HC Judges Soon". www.livelaw.in. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  9. ^ Mohanty, Kaustubh Kulkarni, Suchitra (1 April 2013). "Novartis loses landmark India cancer drug patent case". Reuters. Retrieved 22 October 2020.((cite news)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Novartis India case: Campaigners hail patent rejection". BBC News. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  11. ^ Scroll Staff. "WhatsApp must remove data of users who delete their accounts before September 25, says Delhi HC". Scroll.in. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  12. ^ Ghosal, Sayan (24 September 2016). "Delhi HC upholds WhatsApp's data-sharing policy, with riders". Business Standard India. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  13. ^ Alawadhi, Neha; Aulakh, Gulveen. "WhatsApp must scrub off user data once the app is uninstalled: Delhi HC". The Economic Times. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  14. ^ a b Reddy, Prashant. "Justice Pratibha Singh Demands a Reply from the Government of India on the Dysfunctional IPAB – IP Bar Continues to Be Mute Spectator". SpicyIP. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  15. ^ Singh, Khomba. "IPAB centre likely to come up in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata". The Economic Times. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
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