Summary
Justice Pratibha M. Singh has been named chair of WIPO’s Advisory Board of Judges for 2025–2027, underscoring India’s growing voice in global IP adjudication. A seasoned IP litigator turned judge, she helped establish the Delhi High Court’s IP Division and has authored several landmark IP rulings. The appointment signals a confident Asian presence in international IP discourse.
In a recent development for the global intellectual property community, Justice Pratibha M. Singh of the Delhi High Court has been appointed as the new chairperson of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Advisory Board of Judges. She would chair the Advisory Board for a two-year term until 2027.[i]
About Justice Pratibha M. Singh
A sitting judge of the High Court of Delhi, Justice Singh has a significant career in intellectual property law, both as a lawyer and a judge. Before her elevation to the bench, she was an IP litigator. During her time as a lawyer, she was also actively involved in policy-making, serving on the IPR Think Tank that drafted India’s first National IPR Policy and providing input to Parliamentary Committees on amendments to IP laws. As a judge, she has presided over a number of landmark IP cases.[ii]
Appointed as a Permanent Judge of the High Court of Delhi on May 15, 2017, Justice Singh was instrumental in the establishment of the Intellectual Property Division (IPD) within the Delhi High Court in 2021. She chaired the committee that recommended the formation of the specialised IPD and drafted its governing rules. This specialised division was created to handle the increasing volume of intellectual property disputes and ease IP adjudication in India.
Asian Voice in the Global Judicial Forum
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) is an agency of the United Nations dedicated to developing a balanced and effective international intellectual property system. Its Advisory Board of Judges is composed of distinguished judges from various countries who provide expert guidance on WIPO’s work with judiciaries around the world.
While judges from Asian countries, such as China, have been members of the Board, Justice Singh is the first to serve as its chairperson. This appointment marks the first time an Asian judge will chair this prestigious board. Similarly, other Indian judges, such as Justice Dalveer Bhandari, who serves on the International Court of Justice, have held very high-ranking international judicial positions. This specific leadership role within the UN’s global IP forum is a new milestone.
Who Else is on the Board?
Justice Singh will lead a board of respected jurists from around the world. The other members of the WIPO Advisory Board of Judges for the 2025-2027[iii] term include:
- Luis Antonio CAMARGO VERGARA, Judge, Third Tribunal Specialized in Competition and Intellectual Property, First Judicial District, Panama City, Panama
- DU Weike, Deputy Chief Judge, Intellectual Property Court, Supreme People’s Court, Beijing, China
- Zhanar DUISENOVA, Judge, Specialized Interdistrict Administrative Court of Astana, Kazakhstan
- Mohammad ELZEND, Appellate Judge, Tanta High Court of Appeals; Senior Advisor, International and Cultural Cooperation Department, Ministry of Justice, Cairo, Egypt
- Jean-Christophe GAYET, Presiding Judge, Third Section, Third Chamber, First Instance Court of Paris, France
- Michael MANSON, Justice, Federal Court of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
- Mustapher Mohamed SIYANI, Principal Judge, High Court of Tanzania, Dodoma, United Republic of Tanzania
- Savvas PAPASAVVAS, Vice-President, General Court of the European Union, Luxembourg
- WOO Sungyop, Presiding Judge, Fourth Division, Intellectual Property High Court of Korea, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
In its previous term, the Advisory Board was led by Rian Kalden, Presiding Judge of the second panel of the Court of Appeal of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and a Senior Judge of the Court of Appeal at the Hague, Netherlands.
[i] https://www.wipo.int/en/web/judiciaries/w/news/2025/meet-the-2025-2027-wipo-advisory-board-of-judges
[ii] https://www.delhihighcourt.nic.in/web/Judges/justice-prathiba-m-singh#:~:text=She%20was%20elevated%20as%20a,the%20abolition%20of%20the%20IPAB.
[iii] https://www.wipo.int/en/web/judiciaries/members-of-the-wipo-advisory-board-of-judges-for-2025-2027