Justice Prathiba M. Singh completed her 5-year law course from University Law College, Bangalore. She graduated as the 1st Rank holder from Bangalore University and represented India at the Philip C. Jessup Moot Court competition in Chicago, USA. After her graduation, she was offered the ODASSS scholarship by the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust to study LL.M. at the University of Cambridge (U.K.). She enrolled with the Bar in 1991.
Before being elevated to the Bench, she was a leading Intellectual Property lawyer in India. She had the distinction of handling landmark matters in all areas of IPR laws including patents, trademarks, designs, copyright, plant varieties, internet laws, etc. As the Managing Partner of Singh & Singh, she advised clients and handled cases relating to commercial disputes, arbitration, telecom, broadcasting laws, media laws, writs, regulatory issues, education, etc. During her years of practice, she regularly appeared before the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, High Court of Delhi, TDSAT, IPAB, Trademark and Patent Offices.
She was appointed as Amicus Curiae by the High Court of Delhi to streamline the working of the Copyright Office. She was also appointed on a High-Level Committee for streamlining of Patent examinations. She was invited as an expert to present views to Parliamentary Committees considering amendments to the Patents Act in 2002, Copyright Amendment Act, 2012, Geographical Indications Act, etc. She was also a member of the CII National Steering Committee on IPRs.
Justice Singh was designated as a9 Senior Advocate by the Delhi High Court in December 2013.
The Prathiba M. Singh Scholarship for LL.M. students was instituted at the University of Cambridge in 2013 for students who have secured admission at Cambridge, for pursuing their LLM course.
She was a member of the IPR Think Tank which was entrusted with the momentous task of drafting India's first 'National IPR Policy’ which was released in May, 2015.
She was a member of various professional bodies including SCBA, DHCBA, INTA, APAA, AIPPI, IPAA, IPLPA, and Telecom Lawyers Association. During her tenure as the President of APAA (Indian Group), several important initiatives were taken including filing of a writ petition seeking constitution of the IPAB as also the creation of the Delhi court-room complex for the IPAB.
Various awards conferred to her include, ‘IP Litigator of the Year, 2012', the 'Asia Women in Business Law Award' given by Managing IP for excellence in Litigation, 'IP Lawyer of the Year, 2013' by Legal Era, 'Best IP Senior Counsel of the Year - 2014' by Legal Era, ‘Woman Lawyer of the Year, 2015' by the Indian National Bar Association, and ‘Most Powerful Women in Business, 2018’ by Business Today.
She was elevated as a Permanent Judge of the High Court of Delhi on 15th May 2017.
Justice Singh was the Chairperson of the Committee that recommended the constitution of the ‘Intellectual Property Division’ in the Delhi High Court, post the abolition of the IPAB. The Committee also drafted the “Delhi High Court Intellectual Property Rights Division Rules, 2022” which were notified on 24th February, 2022.
Justice Singh was also the Chairperson of the `Patent Committee’ of the Delhi High Court which drafted the “High Court of Delhi Rules Governing Patent Suits, 2022.”
Recognising her contribution to the development of IP law, Managing IP, a leading global publication, has rated Justice Singh amongst the ‘50 Most Influential People in IP’ for two consecutive years, i.e., 2021, and 2022.
Justice Singh is a Member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Research in Intellectual Property, MNLU, Mumbai.
In the year 2022, Justice Singh became the first Indian judge to be elected as an Honorary Fellow of Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge.
Hon’ble Ms. Prathiba M. Singh
Judge, Delhi High Court
Examination cum Judicial Education