INTA Members Raise IP Rights Awareness in Indian Schools

In pursuit of raising awareness of intellectual property (IP) through outreach and promotion under India’s National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy, the Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) has been conducting and coordinating many IPR-related events for school children all over India.

Recently, CIPAM joined with the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)-NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) to raise IPR awareness and encourage young student innovators by conducting IPR sessions in Atal Tinkering Labs. AIM is a flagship initiative set up by the NITI Aayog 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. To help in the achievement of its objectives, AIM has created Atal Tinkering Labs across the country to promote an innovative and creative mindset in schools.

On July 16, CIPAM and AIM held their first IPR Awareness session in a school in New Delhi. Representing INTA was Swati Sharma (Anand and Anand, India). During the hour-long session, Ms. Sharma spoke to the students about the importance of IPRs using the interactive presentation developed by CIPAM and INTA.

INTA would like to thank the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and CIPAM for continuing to provide INTA and its members with ongoing opportunities to engage in this significant endeavor.

WTR 300 Recognition for Godrej Consumer Products’ Mandar Chandrachud
INTA would like to congratulate Mandar Chandrachud, Associate Vice President-Legal and Head of Intellectual Property Rights at Godrej Consumer Products Limited (India) for being listed in the 2018 edition of WTR 300: The World’s Leading Corporate Trademark Professionals. Mr. Chandrachud has been a strong voice for INTA’s Indian corporate contingent, and he has been supporting INTA in furthering the Association’s advocacy efforts in the country. INTA wishes Mr. Chandrachud continued professional success and recognition.

Anticounterfeiting Technology Presentation at DIPP
On July 17, INTA and 13 of its corporate members from India were invited by the DIPP to attend a presentation by a startup from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur, India, on a new technology for offline authentication of products. The presentation was also attended by Joint Secretary of DIPP, Rajiv Aggarwal, and members of CIPAM. The presentation highlighted worrying trends globally and in India pertaining to counterfeiting, and then explained a novel anticounterfeiting technology that was born at the National Centre for Flexible Electronics, IIT Kanpur, which could be used to easily verify authenticity of products by consumers.

During this interaction, CIPAM also highlighted the work the government has been doing to raise IPR awareness among enforcement authorities and the judiciary. Mr. Aggarwal stressed that all stakeholders must join forces and be involved consistently in the fight against counterfeiting.

Stakeholder Meeting at Indian IP Office
INTA was invited to a meeting of IP professionals and practitioners at the Indian IP Office in New Delhi, which operates under DIPP, on August 3. The meeting was chaired by: Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, DIPP, who was accompanied by Mr. Aggarwal; O.P. Gupta, Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks; and other senior officials of the IP Office.

The purpose of the meeting, which was attended by representatives from law firms and companies, was to facilitate discussion and give “feedback on the implementation of the National IPR Policy and further improvement required in the functioning of the Office to make the IPR ecosystem in India more progressive.”

As covered in previous India Updates for the INTA Bulletin, the IP Office has made remarkable progress in its operations and the processing of IP rights in recent years. The IP Office has been highly receptive to user feedback and organizes regular meetings to address stakeholder concerns. At this meeting, attendees lauded the IP Office for making huge strides in improving its overall functioning. At the same time, they raised a few concerns (such as pendency in opposition matters and non-acceptance of user amendments) and made some suggestions (such as streamlining the document service process), which the IP Office said it is looking into. The IP Office updated stakeholders about its plans to further improve the trademark side with efforts that include shortly targeting the backlog in the opposition section and considering videoconferencing for trademark hearings.

Realizing the true potential of the latest technologies available, the IP Office also mentioned that it intends to make use of Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, the Internet of Things, and other technologies in its patent processing system. As confirmation of this intention, the office has recently published an invitation to interested eligible vendors to submit their proposals for implementing these technologies. The IP Office has also recently published a recruitment notice for more than 200 vacancies for patents and designs examiners, thereby actively addressing the need for additional personnel.

If you have any suggestions regarding the processing of trademark rights at the IP Office, please email them to INTA’s India Consultant, 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.

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