2018 India Workshop: A “Brand” New Day

Registration

Welcome and Introduction 

INTA Chief Executive Officer
Etienne Sanz de Acedo, International Trademark Association (USA)

2018 INTA President
Tish Berard, Hearts On Fire Company LLC (USA)

Session I
Shifting Goalposts—IP Challenges of New Tech Companies

The goalpost for IP lawyers continues to shift as companies like Amazon and Flipkart cross over from being “pure” intermediaries to having a mixed retailer-intermediary business model, and as Google steps up its hardware and enterprise offerings. Add to the mix a host of antitrust and regulatory issues that are far from uniform across jurisdictions, cultural and political sensitivities that impact business decisions, and offerings across geographies, and you have a veritable minefield. This session will try to navigate this territory with some practical approaches and solutions.

Moderator:
Shwetasree Majumder, Fidus Law Chambers (India)

Speakers:
Aneesh Garg Walmart (India)
Shweta Girotra, In-House Counsel for a leading Fintech company (India)
William M. Kelly, OFO SG. PTE. LTD. (Singapore)
Anand Shankar Jha, Myntra & Jabong (India)

Session II
Social, Cultural, and Technological Impact on Brands and Advertising 

With rising brand consciousness among the middle class, brands are increasingly vying to attract consumer attention. As part of their strategy to have better brand recall, brand owners use a variety of media to reach out to consumers and to differentiate their products from those of the competition. This session will focus on how companies are playing upon Indian cultural aspects in promoting their brands and localizing their products to appeal to the target audience.

The discussion will also include: how the use of social media influences consumer choices; lessons and pitfalls in brand strategy; and the recent trend of companies resorting to aggressive comparative advertising campaigns to gain traction for their products and brands and how the courts and the Advertising Council of India are dealing with the fallout.

Moderator:
Ranjan Narula, RNA, IP Attorneys (India)

Speakers:
Ranabir Basu, Mondelēz International (India)
Meenu Chandra, Microsoft (India)
Nandita Khurana, Michelin (India)

Session III
Counterfeiting and IPR Enforcement in India’s Booming E-Commerce and Tech Start-Up Landscape

The field of intellectual property rights (IPR) is a rapidly developing one. With the advent of globalization and technology, rampant infringement of IPR in the digital context has increased exponentially. Rights of IP owners are increasingly at risk as infringement by counterfeiting and piracy is being carried out with impunity. The complexities of India’s booming e-commerce and tech start-ups have added further complications to the counterfeiting problem in India. As we seek to move into an era where IPR reforms will drive creativity and innovation, there is an immediate need to act against the menace of counterfeiting and piracy. Without adequate protection of IPR, the incentive to develop new ideas and products will be reduced.

This session will assess the impact of counterfeits and the overall damage it causes. Panelists will also discuss creative strategies and possible solutions, including how to enhance collaboration and cooperation among key players to effectively stem the rising tide of counterfeiting in today’s e-commerce-dominated reality.

Moderator:
Pulin Kumar, Adidas Group, India (India)

Panelists:
Anirudh Rastogi, TRA (India)  
Krishna Chaudhary, Snapdeal (India)
Satyajit Gupta, Advaita Legal (India)
Rob Davey, Clarivate Analytics (United Kingdom)
Tripti Vini, Shopclues (India)  

Closing Remarks by Member of INTA Board of Directors

Hemant Singh, Inttl Advocare (India)

Join us for drinks and an opportunity to meet with 2018 INTA President and INTA CEO.

INTA would like to thank the Project Team for its excellent work in planning and presenting this Workshop.

Project Team Members:
Shwetasree Majumder, Fidus Law Chambers (India)
Ranjan Narula, RNA, IP Attorneys (India)
Pulin Kumar, Adidas Group, India (India)

INTA Staff Liaisons:
Dionne Downs, International Trademark Association (USA)
Gauri Kumar, International Trademark Association (India)
Sarah O’Connell, International Trademark Association (USA)