The Madras High Court has agreed to Government of India's proposal that the Glivec patent appeal by Novartis be heard at the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) by a two member Bench comprising a chairman and vice chairman, instead of the official three-member panel structure.

The court ruled that the chairman could also act as a technical member of the Bench.

Novartis had petitioned the High Court for a new technical member because the Swiss drug major had disagreed with the appointment of the former Controller General of the Indian Patent Office S Chandrashehkaran to the IPAB.