ALG’s Sneha Tandon and Sucharitha Banda were a part of the recent GreenTech Summit organized by CII-IGBC in Delhi. The event saw participation of Government officials and leading innovators and professionals in the field of green technology, which is a practice area of focus and expertise for ALG’s law practice.  

The Summit highlighted the importance of employing sustainable green technologies and environmentally friendly innovative approaches, particularly in the building and infrastructure industry.

ALG attorneys exchanged high-level information, ideas and insights with industry leaders in the field of green building concepts, including recent trends in the field of green technology. These exchanges reinforce our Technology and Environment focused law practices at the firm and help us serve our clients in these industries more holistically.

The theme for the 50th Environment Day (2023), #BeatPlasticPollution, urges us to refocus on a matter of global concern – plastic pollution and possible solutions to this issue.

The IP fraternity (inventors, IPOs and lawyers) as a whole has always been a driving force in innovation and development of green technology. Intellectual Property Offices around the world have taken various initiatives towards promoting developments in green technology. Some of these include WIPO’s “WIPO GREEN” which is “an online platform for technology exchange” and UK IPO’s “Green Channel” which “offers accelerated processing for patent applications if the invention has an environmental benefit”. 

At ALG, we like to keep ourselves up to date with green technology trends through summits and seminars to better assist inventors in safeguarding their IP rights while they #BeatPlasticPollution. In addition to our role as IP lawyers, at ALG we implement initiatives big and small in our day to day lives to #BeatPlasticPollution. We have minimised single-use plastics and aim at re-using and recycling our plastics.

On this day we share with you a few incredible examples of sustainable innovations that could change the world and #BeatPlasticPollution –

1. ISLA® is a water-based dispersion coated barrier board which is fully recyclable and repulpable.
Source: https://lnkd.in/dZhC8zF7

2. The Veganbottle is an all-natural alternative to plastic bottles.
Source: https://lnkd.in/dGTjCRi

3. The Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor (Cat-HTR™) which converts unrecyclable plastic into liquid fuel
Source: https://lnkd.in/d6hQagKs

4. Evoware’s Ello Jello Cups which are made of edible seaweed packaging and come in many flavors.
Source: https://lnkd.in/d8hUZ-AJ

5. Marine Debris Bakelite material which is made from 100% plastic waste washed up on Australian shores and is used to make functional and aesthetic products. 
Source: https://lnkd.in/d_zw9-VN

Interns – Rishita Kala, Priyanka Jaiswal, Naman Keswani, Rishav Kumar,  Aruna Bopche, Garima Chauhan and Manish Kumar have commenced their General IP Internship with the firm’s law practice.

We hope their stay in the firm during the 4 week period of their internship will be mutually enriching and that the firm and they will learn exciting things from each other!

Rohan Singh, Sriradha Rai Choudhuri and Mansi Mishra (Pre-Final Year) have successfully completed their Internship at ALG. At the end of their internship, they obliged us with their thoughts and ideas during the Sharing of Reflections (SoR) session. Their presence enriched the firm while they interned here. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

A ‘Legal Issues Seminar- General IP’ (LIS-GIP) was conducted by Uroosa Shahzad, Trainee Associate, on “Whether including a geographical name automatically disqualifies a trademark for registration?”. The seminar analysed under which circumstances the use of geographical names as trademarks are capable of being considered as distinctive under the law. The members deconstructed the various decisions that have considered the conditions for geographical names to be granted trademark protection. The seminar also involved an interesting dialogue on the judicial interpretation of the acquired distinctiveness and the bona fide use of a geographical name as part of a trademark or as a trademark. The seminar concluded with outlining various circumstances wherein the courts have provided registration to the marks which contain geographical names.

The presentation can be accessed here.