IP Cases in District and Commercial Courts in India

Explainer · IP Litigation Forums

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Most people think IP litigation in India means the Delhi High Court IP Division. That is only part of the picture. A large number of trade mark, copyright, design and patent suits are filed in District Courts and Commercial Courts, and they are hard to see. If you search only the High Court IPDs, you will miss infringers, orders and rival filings. This explainer shows where IP suits can be filed outside the High Court IPDs, what rules decide the forum, and how to keep track of them. Last verified October 2026.

01The problem: IP suits you cannot see

Say you act for a brand owner. You watch the High Court IP Division for new suits and orders. You think you know who is suing whom. Then a client finds out that a rival has already obtained an injunction against a copycat in a District Court in another state. Nobody told you.

This happens because IP law in India does not force every suit into one court. The forum depends on the type of IP right, the value of the claim, and where the parties are. Many suits are properly filed in a District Court, and since 2018 most of them are heard by a Commercial Court.

This matters for three people. A brand owner who wants to know if a competitor has sued. A lawyer who needs a precedent from a trial court. A lender or buyer who is checking IP risk before a deal.

02The core forum rule: Section 104 and the specified value

Two rules do most of the work. One decides the court level for a patent suit. The other decides whether a commercial dispute goes to a Commercial Court.

Section 104 of the Patents Act, 1970

Section 104 says a suit for infringement of a patent cannot be filed in any court lower than a District Court that has jurisdiction to try the suit. So a patent infringement suit starts at the District Court level or higher. It cannot start before a civil judge below the District Judge.

There is an important proviso. If the defendant files a counter-claim for revocation of the patent, the suit and the counter-claim are transferred to the High Court for decision. This is why many patent fights end up in a High Court even when they begin in a District Court.

A patent infringement suit cannot be filed below the District Court. A revocation counter-claim sends it up to the High Court.

The Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and the specified value

The Commercial Courts Act, 2015 treats most IP disputes as "commercial disputes". Section 2(1)(c)(xvii) lists IP rights relating to registered and unregistered trade marks, copyright, patents, designs, domain names, geographical indications and semiconductor integrated circuits.

A commercial dispute must have a "specified value" to go to a Commercial Court. The 2018 amendment cut the specified value from Rs 1 crore to Rs 3 lakh. So a commercial IP suit worth Rs 3 lakh or more is heard by a Commercial Court. Section 12 of the Act sets out how the value is worked out.

03Forum by IP right

Each IP statute has its own forum clause. The pattern is similar: the District Court is the starting point, and the plaintiff may sue where they live or carry on business.

• Trade marks: Section 134 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 bars suits below the District Court. It also lets the plaintiff sue where they reside or carry on business, even if the defendant is elsewhere. This is why a brand owner can often file at home.
• Copyright: Section 62 of the Copyright Act, 1957 works in a similar way. The suit goes to a District Court, and the plaintiff may sue where they reside or work for gain.
• Patents: Section 104 of the Patents Act, as above. The forum is the District Court or higher, and revocation counter-claims go to the High Court.
• Designs: Section 22 of the Designs Act, 2000 provides for suits for piracy of a registered design, and these are not filed below the District Court.
• Geographical indications: The Geographical Indications of Goods Act, 1999 has its own infringement provisions, and suits also reach the District Court level.

The leading case on the plaintiff-friendly forum for trade mark and copyright suits is the Supreme Court judgment in Dhodha House v. S.K. Maingi (2006). Later High Court decisions have also refined how far a plaintiff can sue at their own place of business.

For each statute, check the section text on the official portal before you rely on this summary. Section numbers and wording are the part that gets misquoted most often.

04The three tiers in a city like Delhi

In a city where the High Court has original jurisdiction, the court level depends on the value of the suit. Delhi is the best known example. The Delhi High Court original jurisdiction was raised to Rs 2 crore by the Delhi High Court (Amendment) Act, 2015. In practice, Delhi has three tiers for IP suits:

So a trade mark suit in Delhi valued at Rs 50 lakh would normally be filed before a District Judge (Commercial), not the High Court IPD.

Other states differ. Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Himachal Pradesh also have High Courts with original side jurisdiction, and each has its own value limit and its own IP division or commercial division arrangement. Elsewhere, the High Court has no original side, so IP suits are filed in the District or Commercial Court and the High Court hears appeals. Check the notification for the state you are dealing with.

05Pre-institution mediation and appeals

Two procedural points affect every commercial IP suit outside the IPDs.

Pre-institution mediation (Section 12A)

Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act requires a plaintiff to try pre-institution mediation before filing a commercial suit, unless the suit contemplates urgent interim relief. Most IP plaintiffs seek an injunction, so they usually argue urgency. Courts have held the section to be mandatory where there is no real urgency, and a plaint can be rejected for skipping it. Think about this early when you plan the filing.

Appeals

Orders and decrees of a Commercial Court are appealable under Section 13 of the Act, to the Commercial Appellate Division or Commercial Appellate Court as notified. Time limits for appeal are short, so note them on day one.

06Why these cases are hard to track

There are a few reasons District and Commercial Court IP cases stay hidden.

• Scattered portals: Each District Court has its own case page on the eCourts services, and the data is not built for IP search. There is no IP-only filter for a state.
• Weak case labels: Many suits are labelled only as "commercial suit" or "civil suit". The IP angle sits in the plaint, not the case type.
• Party names are the only handle: To find infringement cases against your brand, you must search party names across many courts.
• Registry side is separate: Marks, patents, designs and GIs are tracked at IP India. Suits are tracked at the courts. The two are not linked on any government site.

Compare this with the High Court. Delhi High Court IPD cases carry case-type codes such as C.O.(COMM.IPD-TM), so you can filter by type. That is much easier. For District Courts, you usually work by party name and court.

Manual checking works for one brand and one court. It does not work for a portfolio across states. For prior art and patent search, which is a separate job, see our guide to the best AI patent search tools in India.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

For IP work, Claw is an all-in-one platform for India that covers two sides. On the court side, it tracks IP litigation across Indian courts that have a case website, with 9,102 courts, benches and forums in total. You can find infringement cases by party name, follow the High Court IP Divisions (the Delhi IPD by case-type code such as C.O.(COMM.IPD-TM), or by court and number or party), and watch IPD hearings, orders and cause lists. It also offers IP judgment research over 30 crore+ judgments, with LegalGPT.

On the registry side, the IPR Solutions tab tracks IP India matters for trade marks, patents, designs and geographical indications. It watches the Trade Marks Journal and flags conflicting marks by text, phonetic and visual matching. It also tracks pending compliances, including trade mark renewals and patent annuity and response deadlines, plus pending hearings from TM and patent filings.

This is useful for the problem in this article: a District Court suit against a conflicting mark can be seen alongside the registry record for the same mark, in one place.

Limits to know. Claw does not yet track copyright registration at the Copyright Office, so for copyright it is court-side only. For global multi-country docketing and annuities, specialist platforms such as Anaqua, Clarivate or Dennemeyer go deeper. For very high volume docketing at specialist IP firms, Iolite and JSK are built for that. For AI prior-art and structure search, PatSnap, Questel and IPRally lead. For mass marketplace takedowns, look at Red Points or Corsearch. We have not reviewed their current pricing here, so check each vendor directly.

Visit clawlaw.in for the current plan details.

08Sources and further reading

Check every section number and rule against the primary source. Last verified October 2026.

• Acts and amendments (India Code): indiacode.nic.in
• Patents, trade marks, designs and GIs (IP India): ipindia.gov.in
• Delhi High Court (IPD rules, notifications): delhihighcourt.nic.in
• Judgments: indiankanoon.org
• Copyright Office: copyright.gov.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This is general information, not legal advice. Value limits and court notifications change, so confirm them before filing.

09Frequently asked questions