During last week’s Practice Work Shop (PWS) Session, Sannidhi Mahapatra, Associate, lead a discussion on whether a generational divide is causing mismatch between aspirations of associates and expectations of partners in IP-Law firms. The session saw some interesting views with some opining that generational gap does play a role in the different approaches adopted by partners and associates alike. On the other hand, others were of the view that individual personality drove changes in a firm and a seamless blend of both Associates’ innovation and Partner’s experience is needed for a firm to thrive.

A ‘Legal Issues Seminar-General IP’ (LIS-GIP) was conducted by Sanjukta Kaushik, Trainee Associate, on issues relating to Domain Name Disputes, Cybersquatting and IP in Fonts & Characters. The seminar delved into the questions of whether the use of surnames and family names as domain names manifests bad faith registrations, and whether there are sufficient legal safeguards against celebrity name cybersquatting. The seminar also touched upon the differences between typefaces, fonts and glyphs and whether they are protected under The Copyright Act, 1957.

The presentation can be accessed here.

During last week’s Practice Work Shop (PWS) Session, Shreya Das, Associate, lead a discussion on whether expiration of moral rights at the time of expiration of copyright protection over a work goes against John Locke’s Theory of Natural Rights. During the session, diverse views were put forward on the issue with some opining that moral rights being related rights do not have any existence independent of the copyright term itself. On the other hand, others were of the view that moral rights pertain to the integrity of the author, and should therefore subsist beyond the copyright term to protect the legacy and natural rights of the author.

A ‘Legal Issues Seminar-General IP’ (LIS-GIP) was conducted by Sri Lekha Rayapati, Associate, on “Whether Right to be Forgotten is Sufficiently Recognized by Law?”. The seminar provided insight into the evolution and definition of Right to be Forgotten and discussed at length the judicial decisions which introduced the concept of Right to be Forgotten. The seminar also delved into related and important provisions of the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019. The session saw interesting questions and insights from the team on the current position of courts on Right to be Forgotten.

The presentation can be accessed here.

ALG’s new members participated in a casual ‘Get-To-Know-You’ online welcome interaction. Mindful of how interactions with a comparatively large group in the first few months of joining a new workplace can sometimes get overwhelming, this interaction was limited to the firm’s new members. This was our nostalgic homage to casual office banter over coffee that we have come to miss while working from home!