RAS question
The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) was abolished by which legislation?
Correct answer: (C) Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021.
The Intellectual Property Appellate Board was abolished by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021.
Explanation
The official India Code text names the law as the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, Act No. 33 of 2021. Its schedule lists the Intellectual Property Appellate Board under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 among the tribunals covered, and the Act amends key intellectual-property laws by replacing or omitting references to the Appellate Board. In the Patents Act, Trade Marks Act and Geographical Indications law, several provisions substitute the High Court for the Appellate Board; in copyright matters, the Act also shifts specified functions away from the Board to the appropriate court. That is why IPAB's abolition is not a standalone patent amendment but part of the wider tribunal-rationalisation law passed in 2021.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The cited official Act repeals the Tribunals Reforms Ordinance and identifies the operative legislation as the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, not a 2020 ordinance.
- (B) The Finance Act, 2017 dealt with tribunal service provisions, but the India Code text shows the 2021 Act omitting that framework and carrying the abolition schedule that includes IPAB.
- (D) The cited law amends the Patents Act, 1970, but IPAB was not abolished by a separate Patent (Amendment) Act, 2021.
Concept
This tests tribunal reforms under Indian polity and governance, especially how Parliament rationalised specialised appellate bodies. It recurs in RAS because IPAB links administrative reform, judicial forums and statutory amendments in one current-governance issue.