During last week’s Practice Work Shop (PWS) Session, Sannidhi Mahapatra, Associate, lead a discussion on whether going solo is preferable to working at an established law firm. The session saw active discussion on the risks associated with independent practice vis-à-vis the benefits and challenges of working at an IP law firm, especially for fresh graduates. The discussion also explored the prospects of personal growth in both the arenas, given the technical nature of IP law.
A Special Legal Issues Seminar (SLIS) was conducted by Sunidhi Bansal, Associate and Pranay Bali, Principal, presenting the firm’s submissions made in response to the guidelines for “Influencer advertising on digital media” (draft for stakeholder consultation) published by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), in February, 2021. The Seminar provided interesting insights on the disclosure requirements for influencers while advertising on digital media, virtual influencers and disclosure responsibility for advertisements by them, the proposed guidelines and ALG’s comments and recommendations (accessible here).
The session concluded with interesting questions from the team on the applicability of the guidelines to international influencers and celebrities, the scope of definition of virtual influencers, and technical claims and puffery in social media advertisements.
The presentation can be accessed here.
A Legal Issues Seminar (LIS) was conducted by Pranay Bali, Principal, on issues pertaining to admissibility of electronic evidence in courts, specifically in IP matters. The seminar focused on the requirements under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, regarding submission of electronic evidence in legal proceedings, and provided valuable insights for incorporation in practice. The session invited interesting questions on the necessity and benefits of filing an Affidavit under Section 65B in support of electronic evidence relied upon in trademark opposition proceedings as well as in suits for infringement/passing off.
The presentation can be accessed here.
During last week’s Practice Work Shop (PWS) Session, Siddharth Varshney, Associate, lead a discussion on whether we need specialized judges for Intellectual Property (IP ) disputes. The session saw active discussion on the impact of specialized judges on the adjudication of IP related disputes, the current level of technical IP related expertise in the judiciary and administrative efficacy for appointing specialized judges and/or creating special IP benches across Courts in India.
A Special Legal Issues Seminar (SLIS) was conducted by Manavi Jain, Principal & Abhimanyu Kumar, Partner, presenting the firm’s submissions made in response to the ‘Guiding Principles for the Uniform National-Level Regulation of Online Fantasy Sports Platforms in India’ (Draft for Discussion) published by the Niti Aayog in December 2020. The Seminar provided interesting insights into online fantasy sports platforms, the problem areas identified in the draft, proposed guiding principles and ALG’s comments and suggestions (accessible here).
The session concluded with interesting questions from the team on the working and regulation of online fantasy sports, constitution of the proposed self-regulatory body for online fantasy sports and the provisions under various state legislatures on gambling and online gaming.
The presentation can be accessed here.
