The Delhi High Court recently examined the question of valuation for IPR suits and held that, IPR suits should, ideally, be valued above INR 3 lakhs.
However, the court also noted that valuation is at the discretion of plaintiff and stated that if a suit is valued below INR 3 lakh, such suit must first be listed before the appointed commercial court judge at the district level to determine whether the suit has been properly valued. Further, it was also held that even suits that are correctly valued below INR 3 lakhs will be governed by rigors of the Commercial Courts Act to maintain consistency.
As per this order, all pending IPR suits valued below the above amount will now be placed before the appointed commercial court judge at the district level to determine whether the suits have been properly valued.
The Court further held that by simply undervaluing the suit, the parties should not be permitted to escape provisions of Commercial Courts Act or indulge in forum shopping or bench hunting.
Vishal Pipes Limited vs. Bhavya Pipe Industry- FAO-IPD 1/2022 & CM APPLs. 12-14/2022, Order dt. June 3, 2022