Lawyer Monthly Magazine - July 2019 Edition

Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) formerly DIPP, the nodal office for IPR under the Ministry of Commerce, making it easier to administer and address Stakeholder requirements/ feedback/complaints/queries. For instance, the revised TM Rules 2017 have dramatically reduced the number of forms in TM filing from 74 to eight. The commercialisation of IP, which is also one of the objectives of the National IP Policy, is one area that requires a lot of support and the SKS Law Team is working in our own capacity, as well as with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII – IP Policy Team), to identify means to help IP owners with valuation of their IP and commercialise their IP. Enforcement is becoming more effective with greater awareness among the Judiciary as well as the Customs and Police officers with regard to modes of infringement, seizure of goods etc. It is significant to note that first time IP owners, Startups (under the Startup Initiative), small entities are very aware of IP and are also ensuring enforcement of their IPRs. Are there any trends you predict will occur in the next year, regarding IP in India? With the “Make In India” and the “Startup India” Initiatives in place, we have noticed an upsurge of innovation across the country. The innovations may not all qualify the patentability criteria but it is clear that there appears to be an upsurge on enquiries on trademarks, industrial designs, copyrights and on domain names. The excitement is palpable. According to WIPO in 2016-17, the number of TM applications surged 134%. When advising foreign clients, can you share misconceptions they may have when trying to enforce protection on their IP? As to date, things have IP TRENDS IN INDIA improved and there is no misconception on the enforcement of IPRs. However, since India does not have Trade Secret Law, there are queries on the best means to protect trade secrets and the ways to enforce it before the Courts. You have been involved in drafting parliamentary bills; can you share more about this? What impact has this made? The drafting of the parliamentary bills happened by chance. I have often been introduced as a lawyer with a heart. So when a green movement sought to introduce a bill for the protection of Traditional Knowledge, I was invited to be a member of a core group to develop a basic draft bill whichwas then studied by a team at the National Law School, Bangalore (NLSUI) and was then notified for public What are the current IP trends occurring in your state and how does this relate to the rest of India? In response to this, it is to be noted that the National IP Policy notified in May 2016 has had very positive impact on the IP scene in India by providing a road map to effectively protect and manage IP. Six of the seven IPRs, barring Plant Variety Protection, are now under the Department for Promotion of In the next article, we speak to Sunita K Sreedharan about the current IP trends in India and her predictions for this field in the year ahead. CONTACT Ms. Sunita K Sreedharan Advocate Founder, SKS Law Associates R10, Flat No 4, Nehru Enclave, New Delhi – 110019, India sunita@skslaw.org 68 Professional Excellence www. lawyer-monthly .com JUL 2019