INTA Holds Corporate Member Meeting, Attends Cutting-Edge Events

On August 31, INTA held its Corporate Member Meeting at the Mumbai, India, office of Corporate Member Procter & Gamble. INTA’s Corporate Member Meetings provide corporate members regular opportunities to gain educational insights and updates on the work of the Association, as well as to discuss and address their common concerns with their in-house counterparts.

During the meeting, guest presenter and INTA Member Azhar Sadique (Keltie LLP, UK) gave a live video presentation to the audience on the practical lessons, takeaways, and first-hand experience relating to intellectual property (IP) enforcement on social media. The presentation discussed the ever-changing world of infringement and increased counterfeit activity on social media, the use of advanced technology by infringers, and the critical importance of having robust social media content practices, policies, and guidelines.

Mr. Sadique also took the audience step by step through the IP rights (IPR) complaint/violation reporting mechanisms for popular social media sites and shared information on useful content-monitoring tools. The audience engaged in a practical discussion about their own experiences of social media monitoring and IP enforcement in the Indian context and exchanged tips on effective lateral approaches to this modern-day problem.

After the presentation, members discussed common brand and trademark-related concerns faced by their businesses in India operating in other South Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. This discussion is in line with INTA’s project to study trademark-related concerns faced by Indian corporations and foreign corporations doing business in India from neighboring countries in the Indian subcontinent. The project will explore harmonization of trademark laws in South Asia and advocate for better coordination of IP agencies in the region. The project report will be shared with relevant government agencies to aid India in considering a bilateral IP policy dialogue.

INTA Members Participate in National Workshop on Patent Drafting

Several INTA members participated as speakers and trainers in a week-long National Workshop on Patent Drafting organized by the government of India in Jaipur, Rajasthan, from September 10 to 14.

The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), in collaboration with the Technology and Innovation Support Centre (TISC) and Rajasthan State Council for Science and Technology (RAJCOST), organized a five-day workshop on patent drafting as part of the effort to fulfill the National IPR Policy’s objectives. The workshop was targeted at enabling participants to critically identify, define, and assess the general structure of a patent specification; acquire basic skills to identify an invention; evaluate and apply different patent drafting techniques; and draft claims in order to differentiate their application from prior applications.

Approximately 80 people participated in this training, including representatives from IPR bodies, university IPR cells, industry, as well as TISC officials, scientists, and IP professionals.

INTA member organizations that participated as trainers included Legasis, Anand and Anand, ALG India Law Offices, S. Majumdar & Co., and United IPR.

INTA is an active supporter and collaborator in the government’s efforts to strengthen the IP landscape-both at the policy and the public levels, and regularly participates in the government’s outreach initiatives through its membership base in India.

The Future of Intangibles

On September 29, INTA hosted a roundtable in Bangalore titled, “The Future of Intangibles,” focusing on innovation in IP and emerging issues such as the impact of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union and the Indian Personal Data Protection Bill of 2018, which is currently in the planning stages. The roundtable was hosted by Anand and Anand and INTA was pleased to have the In-House IP Professionals Forum (I-HIPP) as a knowledge partner.

INTA Members Conduct Atal Innovation Mission’s Facebook Live Sessions

The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and CIPAM are conducting a series of Facebook Live Sessions in the months of September and October. AIM is a flagship initiative of NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) to promote innovation and entrepreneurship across the country, based on a detailed study and deliberations on innovation and entrepreneurial needs of India in the years ahead.

INTA members, K&S Partners, ALG Law Offices LLP, and Khaitan & Co. are participating in this outreach session for children. The first two sessions-“Honouring Copyrights & Keeping Pirates at Bay,” presented by Rajendra Kumar (K&S Partners, India), and “What’s in a Name-Teaching Kids about Trademarks and Counterfeiting,” presented by Sheja Ehtesham (ALG India Law Offices LLP, India)-have nearly 4,500 views combined at the time of this writing. The third session, called “Young Inventors’ Guide to protecting their inventions,” will be conducted by Janaksinh Jhala (Khaitan & Co., India).

INTA Invited to Observe Member Firm’s Moot Court Competition

INTA member Anand and Anand hosted the 16th Raj Anand Intellectual Property Moot Court Competition, 2018 in collaboration with Vidya Intellectual Property Foundation, on August 25, in New Delhi. This year’s topic was the interface between competition law and IP.

The competition was graced by many high-profile participants from the legal community, including judges of the Delhi High Court. Sixteen teams from reputable law schools across India vigorously competed to win the Flame of Creativity trophy, which is awarded for a combination of legal expertise and innovative thinking and creativity. The winning team of the 16th Raj Anand Moot Court Competition was Gandhinagar National Law University.

INTA India Consultant Gauri Kumar supports the Association’s 147 members in India. In collaboration with the staff at INTA’s headquarters in New York City and Representatives Offices around the world, Ms. Kumar works on the Association’s policy, membership, marketing, and communications initiatives throughout India. To learn more about INTA’s activities in India, please contact Gauri Kumar at [email protected].

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of items in the INTA Bulletin, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest. Law & Practice updates are published without comment from INTA except where it has taken an official position.