Hardik Choudhary, Trainee Associate, lead an interesting discussion in last week’s Practice Work Shop (PWS) session on whether copyright protection should be provided to engineered DNA/genetics. The feasibility of such a protection along with pros and cons were discussed at length during the session.

A ‘Legal Issues Seminar’ (LIS) was conducted by Sneha Tandon, Associate, as part of ALG’s ongoing ‘Legal Issues in My Area of Interest (AoI)’ series, where Associates present on issues in their respective Areas of Interest. The seminar touched upon “Whether garment designs are protectable under Copyright Law or Designs Law?”, “Can the author’s right in case of architectural work prevail over land/building owner’s right of demolition of such work?” and “Whether grant of punitive/exemplary damages in suits for infringement of pharmaceutical trademarks is an extension of a ruling in the plaintiff’s favour?”.

Covering diverse areas, the session concluded with an engaging discussion on the rights of garment designers vis-à-vis couture inspired clothing lines produced by fast fashion labels under Copyright and Designs Laws respectively.

The presentation can be accessed here.

Nayantara Malhotra, Associate, lead a very interesting discussion on whether lesser penalty should be imposed on an innocent IP infringer during this week’s practice workshop session. The discussion delved into whether the socio-economic landscape of a developing country such as India should be taken into consideration when deciding penalty on first-time or innocent infringers. The larger question on what constitutes innocence was also discussed at great length.

Dishti Titus, Senior Associate, conducted a ‘Legal Issues Seminar’ (LIS) on Cognizability of the Offence of Copyright Infringement. Second in a 10-session module on ‘The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.) in the Context of IP Offences’, the session focused on the conundrum of cognizability of the offence under the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Code of Criminal Procedure. The session also touched upon various judicial precedents on the issue and shed light on the oscillating positions followed by various Courts.

The session concluded with questions on the difference in treatment of offences with a similar degree of punishment under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and some interesting observations from the team on their position on the issue.

The presentation can be accessed here.

In this week’s Practice Workshop Series, Sannidhi Mahapatra, Trainee Associate, lead a thought-provoking discussion on ‘AI and Automation in IP Firms’. The pros and cons of artificial intelligence taking over the legal profession and the extent to which AI can aid IP lawyers were discussed at length during this session.