Your intellectual property is the most valuable asset your company owns, and we make sure it is protected as rigorously as everything else on your balance sheet.
Your intellectual property is the most valuable asset your company owns, and we make sure it is protected as rigorously as everything else on your balance sheet.
Filing, prosecution, and registration across all classes. Opposition proceedings, rectification actions, and enforcement against infringement and passing off. Domestic and international registrations through the Madrid Protocol.
Patentability assessments, provisional and complete specification drafting, prosecution before the Indian Patent Office, and patent portfolio management. Technology companies need patent strategies, not just patent filings.
Registration of literary, artistic, musical, and software works. Copyright assignment and licensing agreements. Enforcement actions against infringement in both physical and digital environments.
Drafting and negotiation of IP licensing agreements, technology transfer arrangements, and franchise agreements. IP allocation in joint ventures, collaborations, and outsourcing arrangements.
Confidentiality frameworks, non disclosure agreements, and protection strategies for proprietary information. India does not have a dedicated trade secret statute. Protection depends on contractual and common law mechanisms.
IP audits and due diligence for M&A transactions, investments, and technology acquisitions. Identification of IP assets, ownership verification, encumbrance analysis, and valuation support.
Every engagement is read through three lenses at once, so the advice fits the technology, the commercial intent and the statute together.
Understanding the technology, product, or creative work that requires protection. Patent claims must be drafted by lawyers who understand the underlying technology. Trademark strategies must reflect brand architecture.
IP rights create market value. We align IP strategy with business objectives, whether that means building a patent portfolio for licensing revenue, protecting a brand for market expansion, or securing technology rights for product development.
Trade Marks Act 1999, Patents Act 1970, Copyright Act 1957, Designs Act 2000, and common law protections. International treaties including TRIPS, Paris Convention, and Madrid Protocol.
Intellectual property has become the primary value driver for modern businesses. For technology companies, IP is the product itself. For consumer brands, trademarks define market identity. For manufacturers, patents protect process innovations. For creative industries, copyright protects content.
Yet most Indian businesses underinvest in IP protection. Trademarks are filed reactively, after a competitor creates confusion. Patents are pursued sporadically rather than strategically. Trade secrets lack contractual protection. And IP allocation in commercial agreements is treated as boilerplate.
India’s trademark registry processes millions of applications annually. The backlog has reduced significantly in recent years, but prosecution still requires vigilance. Class selection, specification drafting, response to examination reports, and opposition proceedings all affect whether your mark achieves registration and the scope of protection it provides.
Patent prosecution in India follows the Patents Act 1970 as amended, with specific exclusions under Section 3 that affect software, business methods, and certain pharmaceutical inventions. The examination process requires detailed technical specifications and claims drafting that balances breadth of protection with patentability requirements.
IP licensing and technology transfer agreements are where IP value is monetized. But poorly drafted licensing agreements create disputes about scope, exclusivity, improvement ownership, and termination rights. We draft licensing agreements that anticipate these disputes and allocate rights clearly.
The statutes, rules and regulators that govern this practice. We track every amendment, circular and ruling so the position you take today still holds tomorrow.
The Trade Marks Act 1999 governs registration, protection, and enforcement of trademarks including service marks. Registration provides prima facie evidence of validity and exclusive right to use. Protection extends for 10 years, renewable indefinitely. Well known trademark status provides enhanced protection across all classes.
The Patents Act 1970 grants 20 year protection from the filing date for patentable inventions. India follows a first to file system. Compulsory licensing provisions under Section 84 allow government to override patent exclusivity in specified circumstances.
The Copyright Act 1957 provides automatic protection for original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, including computer programmes. Registration, while not mandatory, provides evidentiary advantages. Copyright ownership in commissioned works and employment works requires careful contractual allocation.
The Designs Act 2000 protects novel and original designs applied to articles of manufacture. Design registration provides 10 years of protection, extendable by 5 years.
International frameworks including TRIPS, the Paris Convention, Berne Convention, and Madrid Protocol create the global IP protection architecture that Indian businesses must navigate when operating internationally.
Our IP advisory begins with an audit of existing IP assets. We identify what you have, what needs protection, and what gaps exist in your current IP strategy.
Trademark prosecution follows a systematic process: availability search, classification analysis, application filing, examination response, and opposition management. We manage portfolios across multiple classes and jurisdictions.
Patent advisory starts with patentability assessment. If the invention is patentable, we draft specifications and claims that maximize protection scope while satisfying statutory requirements. We manage prosecution through examination, response to objections, and grant.
IP licensing engagements begin with understanding the commercial arrangement. We then draft agreements that reflect the commercial intent while addressing IP ownership, improvement allocation, quality control, and termination consequences.
File trademark applications before launching products or services. The first to file system means that prior use alone may not defeat a registered mark. Early filing secures priority.
Conduct freedom to operate analyses before commercializing new products, especially in patent dense industries. The cost of a clearance search is a fraction of the cost of a patent infringement claim.
Include IP allocation clauses in every commercial agreement, not just technology agreements. Any arrangement where parties collaborate, co develop, or share information should address who owns what IP.
Protect trade secrets through multiple mechanisms: NDAs, employment agreements with confidentiality clauses, information security policies, and access controls. Contractual protection alone is insufficient without operational security measures.
Short, direct, on the record.
If there is no opposition, registration typically takes 8 to 12 months from filing. Opposed applications can take 2 to 4 years depending on the complexity of the opposition and tribunal workload. Expedited examination is available for an additional fee.
Any new invention involving an inventive step and capable of industrial application, excluding computer programs per se, mathematical methods, business methods, and other excluded subject matter under Section 3 of the Patents Act. Software patents are available when the invention involves a technical contribution beyond the software itself.
India does not have a dedicated trade secret statute. Protection relies on contractual mechanisms (NDAs, employment agreements with confidentiality clauses) and common law remedies (breach of confidence, unfair competition). Robust contractual frameworks are essential.
The Madrid Protocol allows trademark owners to file a single international application designating multiple countries. India joined the Protocol in 2013. This simplifies international trademark portfolio management and reduces filing costs for businesses seeking protection across multiple jurisdictions.
Scope of license (exclusive, non exclusive, territory, field of use), royalty structure, quality control provisions, sublicensing rights, IP ownership for improvements, termination conditions, and dispute resolution. Each term affects the commercial value and legal enforceability of the license.
Our IP practice combines registration and prosecution expertise with strategic advisory. We do not just file applications. We build IP portfolios that create and protect competitive advantages.
Our integration with corporate, M&A, and commercial practices means IP considerations are woven into business transactions from the beginning. IP due diligence in acquisitions, IP allocation in JVs, and IP licensing in commercial arrangements all benefit from coordinated advisory.
extensive practice across diverse industries gives us pattern recognition that pure IP boutiques lack. We understand how IP intersects with business operations, regulatory compliance, and commercial strategy.
Every business decision you make operates inside a legal structure, and we make sure yours is built right before it is ever tested.
India has more regulatory frameworks than any comparable economy, and while compliance is never optional, it does not have to be overwhelming.
A transaction is not a document but a decision that reshapes your company, and we make sure the reshaping works in your favour.
The strongest outcomes are built into the strategy at the start, not recovered from disputes later.