Our law firm provides full range of Intellectual Property services including registration, maintenance, enforcement and litigation, acquisition and assignment, advisory services with respect to trade marks, copyright, designs, domain names etc., protection against counterfeiting/ parallel imports, and conducting Intellectual Property audits. Our aim is to provide a holistic approach to acquisition, protection and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights to enable our clients to meet their commercial interests.
Our scopes of services include the following:
- Registration of trademarks, patents, designs, copyrights etc. which involves doing public search, filing application and defending any opposition, if any;
- Handling litigation related to infringement and passing off of Intellectual Property;
- Assist in drafting and negotiating agreements involving commercialisation of Intellectual Property through licensing and assignments, technology transfer, franchising, joint venture, and mergers and acquisitions, etc., co-existence agreements and non-disclosure agreements; and
- Intellectual Property Audit, which is a systematic review of the Intellectual Property assets, owned, used or acquired by a business so as to assess and manage risk, remedy problems and implement best practices in Intellectual Property asset management.
Trademarks are an essential part of the branding, advertising, and marketing strategies of a business. Trademarks symbolise the relationship of trust developed over a period of time by the manufacturer or service provider with the users and consumers. It allows consumers to identify a particular good or service with a particular business without any confusion. Trademarks can offer substantial value to a business if protected properly through registration. Advocates and Trademarks Attorneys at the law firm are fully committed to helping our clients maximize the value of their Trademarks through registration, prosecution, opposition and enforcement in India and in several other countries. The law firm assists clients with developing and managing a national and global trademark portfolio with our filing and prosecution strategies.
Our Scope of Services:
I. Filing & Registration
- Search and opinion on Availability & Registrability.
- Filing Applications in India.
- Filing Applications in foreign jurisdictions under Madrid System.
- Prosecution: Attending to Office Actions and Replying to Examination Reports.
- Attending Examination Hearings (Show-Cause Hearings) at the Trade Marks Registry.
II. Maintenance
- Docketing Renewal Deadlines & Sending Renewal Reminders to clients.
- Filing Renewal Applications.
- Filing Restoration Applications.
III. Recordal of Changes relating to Transfer of Rights
- Recordal of Assignment.
- Recordal of Merger.
- Recordal of Name and Address changes.
- Attending Post Registration Hearing at the Trade Mark Registry.
IV. Watch Service & Oppositions
- Watch the Trade Mark Journal to identify potential conflicting marks.
- Providing opinion on chances of success in an opposition proceeding.
- Drafting and Filing Notices of Opposition.
- Defending Oppositions – Drafting & Filing Counter Statements.
- Advising on Evidence & Drafting and Filing Affidavits in support of Opposition/ Application/ Evidence in Reply/ Further Evidence.
- Attending Opposition Hearing at the Trade Marks Registry & Drafting Written Arguments.
V. Cancellation/ Rectification Proceedings:
- Drafting and filing the Review Petitions/Reply at the Trade Mark Registry.
- Attending Hearing at Trade Marks Registry.
- Preparing and filing a Review Petitions/Reply at Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB).
- Preparing and filling Appeal at IPAB against decision of the Registrar of Trade Marks.
- Attending Hearing at Intellectual Property Appellate Board.
VI. Litigation/Infringement:
- Advising and/or providing a written legal opinion to initiate proceedings in respect of a trademark infringement/passing –off in the Courts of India.
- Drafting & publishing Caution Notices.
- Drafting & issuing Cease & Desist Notices.
- Conducting raids and seizure of infringing products.
- Filing Suit for Infringement/ Passing off pan India.
- Initiating & defending Trademarks, Patent, Design and Copyright Infringement Litigations.
- Online market place scrutiny of a trademark infringement (E-commerce/websites).
Design rights protects the visual appearance of a product i.e. shape and configuration of a product and not the functional aspect of a product. Designs may be two-dimensional patterns, ornamentation, lines or colour and/or three-dimensional shape or configuration. Designs contribute significantly to the aesthetic appeal and differentiation of goods. Designs are crucial assets in several industries, such as, textiles, fashion, mobile consumer devices, computer software, automobiles and furnishing and decoration. Registered designs usually benefit from protection for 15 years in India as per the Design Act, 2000. The owner of a protected design may prohibit the making, selling, importing or exporting of products, incorporating or applying the design.
Our Scope of Services:
I. Registration and Prosecution:
- Application for official search of a Design.
- Filing application for registration of a Design.
- Attending to Office Action, Replying to Examination Report.
- Attending Show-Cause Hearing at the Patent Office.
II. Renewal & Maintenance:
- Docketing Renewal deadlines & sending Renewal reminders to clients.
- Filing Renewal Applications.
III. Recording of Changes relating to Transfer of Rights:
- Drafting assignment and licensing agreements for the Registered Design.
V. Cancellation/ Rectification Proceedings:
- Preparing and filing a Cancellation Petitions/Rectification Proceedings of a Design at the Patent Office.
- Attending Hearing at the Patent Office.
- Drafting & Filing Appeals before Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) against decision of Controller
- Defending Appeals & Attending Appeal Hearings
VI. Litigation/Infringement:
- Advising and/or providing a written legal opinion to initiate a legal action in respect of a Design Infringement proceeding in the Courts of India.
- Online market place scrutiny of a Design Infringement (E-commerce/websites,Trade-Shows/Fairs).
- Drafting and Issuing Cease and Desist Notice and Reply to Notice.
- Drafting, Preparing and filing a suit in case of the Design Infringement in the Courts of India.
- Attending Hearings at the Courts of India.
- Conducting raids and seizure of infringing products.
Copyright law encourages the production and protection of literary works, dramatic works, musical works, artistic works, cinematograph films and sound recording. To qualify for copyright protection, the work has to be an original creation. Copyright is automatically vested in the author or creator once the work is created. However, for a commercial benefit and enforcement of rights, it is necessary to seek copyright registration. Copyright protection gives its author or creator a diverse bundle of exclusive rights for a fixed but lengthy duration, which starts from the time of creation or fixation of the work and lasts until at 60 years after the author’s or creator’s death in India. These bundle of rights include the right of adaptation, right of reproduction, right of publication, right to make translations, communication to public etc.
Our Scope of Services:
I. Registration and Prosecution:
- Filing application for registration of the Literary, Dramatic, Musical and Artistic work, Software/Computer Program work, Cinematography and Sound Recording work.
- Attending to Office Action, Replying to Examination Report.
- Attending Show-Cause Hearing.
II. Recordal of Changes relating to Transfer of Rights:
- Drafting assignment and licensing agreements for Literary, Dramatic, Musical or Artistic, Sound Recording and Software/Computer Program, cinematograph film.
- Application for a license to republish a Literary, Dramatic, Musical or Artistic work, Cinematograph Film, Sound Recording.
III. Cancellation Proceedings:
- Preparing and filing a Cancellation Petitions/Reply at the Copyright Office/Copyright Board.
- Attending Hearing at Copyright Office/ Copyright Board.
IV. Litigation/Infringement:
- Advising and/or providing a written legal opinion to initiate a legal action in respect of a Copyright infringement proceeding in the Courts of India.
- Online market place scrutiny of a Copyright infringement (E-commerce/websites, music festivals).
- Issuing Cease and Desist Notice and Reply to Notice.
- Drafting, Preparing and filing a suit in case of the Copyright Infringement in the Courts of India.
- Attending Hearings at the Courts of India.
- Conducting raids and seizure of infringing products.
India has a strong law for the protection of a product patent which is extended to all fields of technology. Any product or a process that is new, involving an inventive step and capable of industrial application can be patented in India. However, it should not fall within the provisions of law where the said product or process is prohibited from getting patent protection by law. In India, a patent application can be filed, either alone or jointly, by the true and first inventor or his assignee.The period of protection of a patent in India is 20 years from the date of filing the patent application, irrespective of whether it is filed with provisional or complete specification. However, in case of applications filed under the Patent Cooperative Treaty (PCT), the term of 20 years begin from the priority date of application. It is essential to note that a patentee has to renew the patent every year by paying the renewal fee, which can be paid every year or in a lump sum, the fee is very nominal. The grant of the patent for a product confers the patentee a right to prevent others from making, using, offering for sale, selling, or importing the patented product in India.
The patent practice of the law firm encompasses a fully packaged offering starting from searching, drafting, and filing of the Patent application to its prosecution followed by pre-grant and post-grant proceedings, dispute resolution, portfolio management, and renewal of patents. Our team has expertise both in technology and in patent law, which helps our client to protect their patents and stay competitive in the global and regional marketplace.
Our Scope of Services:
I. Comprehensive searching and analysis
- Conducting Prior Art Search.
- Conducting freedom to operate and clearance searches for proposed product launches.
II. Registration and Prosecution
- Drafting & Filing Patent Applications.
- Filing Patent Cooperative Treaty Applications.
- Attending to Office Action, Replying to Examination Report.
- Attending Show-Caused Hearing.
III. Oppositions and Revocations
- Conducting Search & Opinion for Pre-Grant Opposition
- Drafting & filing Pre-Grant/Post-Grant Opposition & Attending Hearings.
- Drafting & filing Patent Revocation Applications & Attending Hearings.
- Drafting & Filing Appeals before Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) against decision of Controller
- Defending Appeals & Attending Appeal Hearings.
IV. Maintainance/ Renewal
- Docketing Renewal Deadlines & Sending Renewal Reminders to clients.
- Filing Renewal Applications.
- Obtaining foreign filing license.
- Filing statement of working of a patent.
V. Patent Transactional Work
- Drafting assignment and licensing agreements for Patents.
VI. Litigation/Infringement:
- Advising and/or providing a written legal opinion to initiate a legal action in respect of infringement proceedings in the Courts of India.
- Issuing Cease and Desist Notice and Reply to Notice.
- Drafting, Preparing and filing a suit in case of Infringement in the Courts of India.
- Attending Hearings at the Courts of India.
- Conducting raids and seizure of infringing products.
