A law firm becomes successful due to a culmination of various traits. Some of the important aspects of a successful law firm are:-
The fundamental requirement of being a prominent counsel is to inculcate the habit of reading. He/ she should be through with the brief. It is imperative for a counsel to be aware of the latest legal developments both national and international. Secondly, it is important for becoming a prominent counsel to be able to be patient and to entertain views different from their own in order to formulate a well-informed and fitting opinion. He has to be open for arguments and willing to learn even from his juniors. And most important, he has to prepare his briefs as a devil’s advocate. This helps in knowing the strengths and weakness.
Yes, running a law firm is as managerial as running any other business inasmuch as the following aspects have to be necessarily taken into consideration for running a law firm:
‘The top 3 requirements that in-house counsel has today are as follows:
Considering the dynamic nature of the present day job markets, talent management has become vital for organizations to function properly. A lot of time and resources are invested in the development and training of an employee/ retainer and therefore, it becomes necessary to retain such retainers. Since you have trained them as per your requirements, they become valuable assets. In the event a trained employee leaves an organization and joins another, the latter reaps benefits of the former’s hard work in the form of that competent employee. If employees are not retained then it leads to a fresh cycle of recruitment, investment of time and resources, thereby creating instability as well as lower confidence levels in employees.
Therefore, talent management is necessary. The same can be done by aiding the employees/ retainers with an efficient paralegal and support staff, good administration and well-defined HR policies for proper redressal of queries and grievances of the employees/ retainers and taking necessary measures for strengthening their loyalties and creating a sense of belongingness as also highlighted above.
Creation and creativity ought to coincide in order to create a strong IP value. One cannot be seen in isolation of the other. The fundamental requirement of copyright is that an idea ought to be translated into a tangible form and therefore, creation comes into existence when creativity is put into a tangible substratum. There lies no IP in merely a ‘creative idea’.
India has been consistently and constantly moving up the ladder in terms of the global index of IP rankings. The improvement is a result of specific reforms such as India’s accession to the WIPO Internet Treaties, agreement to initiate a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with international offices, a dedicated set of IP incentives for small businesses along with IP workshops in accordance with the National IPR Policy, 2016, and administrative reforms to address the patent backlog. Such measures accentuate India’s competitiveness in R&D-intensive industries. Apart from the aforementioned steps and initiatives, the influx of global brands and new FDI policies have also enabled Indian brands to gain international repute and protection and vice-versa.
Creation and creativity ought to coincide in order to create a strong IP value. One cannot be seen in isolation of the other. The fundamental requirement of copyright is that an idea ought to be translated into a tangible form and therefore, creation comes into existence when creativity is put into a tangible substratum. There lies no IP in merely a ‘creative idea’.
Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and Fast Moving Electrical Goods (FMEG) are most impacted as far as infringement is concerned inasmuch as large extent of counterfeiting happens in the said product lines and the issue of infringement as counterfeiting and infringement become inter-twined and in fact counterfeiting supersedes infringement as it is a more grave offense. There has been a manifold increase in copyright violations and infringement of music rights with the advancement in digital technologies and high penetration of internet. The rampant piracy of software has also become a big concern which is also required to be tackled with innovative and effective countermeasures.
Business and IPR in today’s time and age go hand in hand as a lot of businesses stem from the creation of an IP such as a trademark or copyright inasmuch as at times the entire goodwill and reputation vests and is generated by a trademark /design/copyright. With the development in the law that organizations cannot use another’s trademark as a part of their trade name or corporate name further implies that companies are aware and informed of rights of other IP owners as well.
Furthermore, when a business launches a new product or a new product range, the management has to carry out a thorough trademark and/or design and/or copyright check in order to ensure that it does not violate anybody else’s IP rights. It is also pertinent to note that with the implementation of the National IPR Policy, 2016 various workshops on IP are being conducted in schools and for MSMEs thereby, creating awareness about IP and acquainting the public with the possibilities of great business prospects by way of using and protecting IP. Therefore, one cannot be seen in isolation of the other. Effective management of IP rights always leads to a successful business and an essential ingredient of good business practice is to ensure effective and efficient management of IP rights.
He joined the firm in the year 2005 as an associate. In the year 2012 when the firm was restructured into a LLP, he became a partner. He has his own team of one Principal Associate, one Senior Associate and 8 associates.
He handles all infringement matters relating to copyright and trademarks and domain-related issues including filing of UDRP complaints. He has handled various high-profile cases in the field of Copyright, Trademarks, Data protection, anti-counterfeiting and UDRP. He regularly conducts Civil and Criminal raids vis-à-vis Counterfeiting.
He was a part of the Parliamentary Standing Committees which was constituted to look into the Copyright Amendment Bill, 2010. He regularly gives advice to the DIPP on copyright related issues and is also on their panel.
He is the Secretary of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (Indian Group) and is also a member of the Association’s Copyright Committee besides being a Council Member of APAA. Since the year 2008 he has been a part of the INTA Committees and has served in the Trademarks Committee as well as in the Nontraditional marks committee. Currently he is a member of the INTA Copyright Committee (2018 – 2019) and is also a member of INTA – India Global Advisory Council.
In the year 2015 he was awarded “Rising Star below 40” by Legal Era. WIPR has recognized him as “Leaders in Trademarks” for four consecutive years from 2016 onwards while “Chambers & Partners” has ranked him as “Band 3 Intellectual Property Litigation Lawyer in India” for three consecutive years from 2017 onwards as well as “Highly recommended lawyer for IP Litigation” in the year 2019. He also got the Clients Choice Award for Copyright in 2018. He has also been ranked by Managing IP as an IP Star for Trademarks for 2018-19. He is also awarded the “Young Achievers Award of the Year” by Legal Era in 2019.
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