Sheja Ehtesham and Clark Lackert feature in the first episode of INTA’s Brand & New Podcast in 2023, titled ‘IP in Space: From Science Fiction or Science Fact’. The podcast covers why IP owners and practitioners should be thinking about outer space, and how to be prepared for what the future may hold for IP in the rapidly evolving space economy. Sheja and Clark, who chair INTA’s Project Team on IP in Outer Space, also talk about the newly launched Report on the subject which explores practical legal approaches on reaching a workable IP system for space between now and the year 2050, by which time it is expected that there will be commercial activities in the Low Earth Orbit, Moon and Mars.

The podcast is available here.

We are pleased to share that Leaders in Law Global Awards 2022 recognised ALG’s Managing Partner Sheja Ehtesham as the Intellectual Property Lawyer of the year in India.

The full list of awardees is available here.

During last week’s PWS Session, Abhilasha Rathore, Associate, led a discussion on “Are Open House Conferences necessary to expedite processing of applications and grievances?”. The session began with a discussion on the tools and mechanisms for grievance redressal already available to Applicants and counsels. The members delved into the efficiency of the already available tools and also deliberated on the challenges faced by right-holders and counsels while making use of these mechanisms. The members discussed and debated the need for open house conferences and the added advantage of being able to communicate with the concerned officers via video conferencing. The members also examined whether organizing open conferences on a regular basis is feasible, and discussed the added strain caused by such conferences on the already limited resources.

A ‘Legal Issues Seminar- General IP’ (LIS-GIP) was conducted by Shivangi Tandon, Associate, on “Is the Defense of ‘De Minimis’ an Alternate to the Statutory Defense of Fair Use?” The seminar analysed the defence of Fair Use and De and delved into the relevant provisions under the Copyright Act, 1957. The session deconstructed the decisions that have interpreted these defences and laid down the factors to be considered while determining if de minimis is a separate and alternative defence under copyright law. The seminar involved an interesting discussion on the judicial interpretation of the qualitative and quantitative test of the defence of De Minimis. The session concluded with look into the current judicial trend in the application of De Minimis as an alternate defence in copyright infringement matters.

The presentation can be accessed here.

During last week’s PWS Session, Uroosa Shahzad, Trainee Associate, led a discussion on “Would granting protection to body movements be detrimental to public interest?” The session began with a discussion on the growing trend of body movements/gestures being granted protection. The members debated on whether gestures and body movements can function as source identifiers and become identifiable exclusively with a certain individual. Towards this, the members questioned whether granting protection to such gestures and body movements is a right worth initiating enforcement action for, and the need for such a shift in the IP ecosystem. The session concluded with the members brainstorming over a scientific threshold for granting protection to gestures and body movements.