During last week’s Practice Work Shop (PWS) Session, Aditya Mittal, Trainee Associate, led a discussion on whether India should invoke Compulsory Licensing provisions to tackle the challenges posed by COVID-19. The session saw an engaging discussion with attorneys expressing their views on the advantages and disadvantages of invoking the provisions of Compulsory Licensing. The session also saw some interesting discussion on whether India should push more aggressively for a Patent Waiver at the WTO and what should be the role of the judiciary in these testing times.

Last Friday, ALG Attorneys welcomed the newest joinees – Samreen, Ashok, Aditya and Sanjukta – by indulging in some retail therapy. No, we did not go shopping, we were selling! The Attorneys participated in a spirited and hotly contested game of ‘Sale or Fail’. From the Infinity Stones of Marvel’s Avengers fame to the innocent doll from the movie Annabelle, the teams brought their best pitches to try to sell each other famous (and some really difficult to sell) pop culture props.

ALG attorneys Manavi Jain, Dishti Titus and Pranay Bali attended INTA’s 2021 Call (India) with INTA President Tiki Dare and CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo.

The call was a thoughtful initiative by INTA to check in with its Indian members and to connect and share experiences and insights about the past year. The discussion centred around the impact of the pandemic and the ways in which the members have coped with it. ALG attorneys shared their insights on working from home, vaccinations, mental health and picking up new hobbies. It was heartening to hear the INTA community share their stories of adapting, growing and looking ahead to a brighter future.

We thank Tiki, Etienne, Gauri, Shelja and everyone involved in organizing this insightful session.

A ‘Legal Issues Seminar-General IP’ (LIS-GIP) was conducted by Shreya Kunwar, Trainee Associate, on “Whether the Statutory Defence of Fair Use under Copyright Law is Applicable to Textbooks in the Current Education Scenario?”. The seminar delved into the provisions relating to the defence of fair use for educational purposes under the Copyright Act, 1957. The seminar also provided insight into the current methods employed while teaching, and the challenges that are arising due to copyright restrictions on use of tetxbooks for online classes. The session saw interesting questions and insights from the team, including on whether there is a need to amend the existing statutory provisions under to bring it in consonance with the changing landscape of education.

The presentation can be accessed here

During last week’s Practice Work Shop (PWS) Session, Hardik Choudhary, Associate, lead a discussion on whether the protection of bundled IP rights justifies the cost. The session saw an engaging discussion with attorneys expressing their views on the factors driving the protection of bundled IP rights and different approaches followed by companies in this regard. The session also saw some interesting points raised on the role of a country’s IP regime, emphasizing particularly upon the advantages and disadvantages of seeking bundled IP rights in India.