VIJAYAWADA: Minutes after chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced the setting up of three special courts in Andhra Pradesh to address disputes relating to trade and commerce, Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur on Friday lauded the initiative and said such special courts to tackle disputes over Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) is the need of hour as they play a key role in development of the nation."Governments should take the lead in the constitution of exclusive courts to oversee litigations of trade and business with regard to IPR," Justice Lokur said while addressing the international workshop on intellectual property rights, jointly organized by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), AP Economic Development Board (APEDB) and Bezawada Bar Association (BBA) here on Friday . Justice Lokur said the nation needs to protect its IPR in order to ensure its growth. "There is a need for setting up more spe cial courts to look after IPR disputes. Such commercial courts are present in Delhi and Mumbai. AP too needs to set them up," he said. Another issue that requires urgent attention is judicial reforms in India, he said.Supreme Court judge Justice NV Ramana said AP faced several ordeals following the bifurcation of the state. He suggested to the CM to set up a judicial academy in the state. Addressing the seminar, Acting Chief Justice of High Court at Hyderabad justice Ramesh Ranganathan said new laws are required to handle the new-age crimes."Many litigations of IPR are linked with monetary affairs. We need exclusive laws to tackle such litigations as the existing laws do not fully cover all such disputes," said justice Ranganathan.According to him, judicial officers should prepare themselves to deliver tough verdicts in violation of IPR cases. "Since IPR rights are crucial to businesses, delay in settling the litigations will be a loss to the nation," said Justice Ranganathan.

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