India

Aditya & Associates is a specialty IP firm based in Mumbai led by the noted Vipul Bhuta, who serves as managing partner and leads the patent practice. The firm has worked extensively on a new patent relating to textile products with herbal composition that renders the fabrics insect-repellent without affecting its basic characteristics. It has also advised on a novel concept to making an engine run by outside air without fuel.

New Delhi-based ALG is a dynamic, mid-sized intellectual property law firm which works with clients of all sizes; it has been entrusted with IP portfolios of several large multinationals. Partners Ashwani Balayan, who heads the firm’s patent practice, and Aparna Sreedhar, who handles trademarks, trade names and copyright matters, are key contacts. Principal Sakthiya Dakshi is noted for her expertise in working with applications and searches for inventions related to biotechnology, nanotechnology and industrial engineering. 

Chennai-based boutique IP firm Altacit Global has acted for Rane, a manufacturer of amplifiers, and other audio processing equipment, before the IPAB, and in oppositions in support of Officer’s Choice, an Indian whisky brand owned by Allied Blenders & Distillers. Key team members of the firm, named Chennai Firm of the Year for 2020 at Asia IP’s India IP Awards, include Sudhir Ravindran, Filma Varghese and Kochi-based Nayantara Sanyal. 

Headquartered in New Delhi, IP specialist Amarjit & Associates reaches to Europe and the Americas through offices in Zurich and New York. The firm is led by president and managing partner Amarjit Singh, a well-known IP practitioner. 

Anand and Anand is one of India’s top IP firms, housing more than 200 professionals led by managing partner Pravin Anand. Senior partners Safir Anand and Archana Shanker are both excellent lawyers. Clients include Mars, Microsoft, Toyota, Louis Vuitton and Pioneer. Anand and Anand was named trademark firm of the year for India at the 2019 Asia IP Awards, as well as the National IP Firm of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP India IP Awards.

Leading full-service firm AZB Partners has offices spread across Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. The firm’s IP team has ten lawyers, many of them with technical expertise. The firm offers “highly client-oriented” services, says a client who entrusts it with trademark and passing off work. Apart from the traditional IP filing and prosecution work, the firm is better known for its IP transactions and licensing work. Partner Nandan Pendsey is a key contact. The firm won multiple awards at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards, including enforcement firm of the year.

Beruar & Beruar’s practice areas include copyright, trademarks, patents, design, geographical indications, dispute resolution, corporate advisory, investigation and enforcement. Partner Rahul Beruar co-founded the law firm and heads its IP practice. Heading the dispute resolution team is partner and co-founder Nidhi Jain. The firm has its head office in New Delhi and has additional offices in Mumbai and Ranchi. It was named IP Boutique of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards.

New Delhi-based Chadha & Chadha has successfully represented Samsung concerning the lack of novelty and inventive step in its invention. After submitting responses to the First Examination Report and drawings, the Controller granted the matter directly with no hearing notice issued. Key contacts include Sonal Madan, Chetan Chadha, Shivarpita Nailwal, Tarun Gandhi and Gopal Trivedi. Gaurav Chhibber has joined the firm in Gurugram as a partner in the firm’s patents team.

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas traces its lineage to Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co. The firm has more than 625 lawyers, including 100 partners, and offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chennai. Partner Ashwin Sapra has 19 years’ experience providing advice on matters relating to intellectual property, drug and medical device regulatory and compliance and other corporate law matters.

Strong IP player DePenning & DePenning is known for its non-contentious work. The Chennai-based firm handles IP searching, investigation, drafting, registration and enforcement as well as opposition procedures. DePenning & DePenning is a popular firm for multinationals doing work in India. 

Based in New Delhi, Dodd & Co is a law firm founded by Pooja Dodd in 2016. Dodd, formerly a partner with Fox Mandal and LexOrbis, provides intellectual property services to clients in India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The firm provides a range of services including commercialization, cross-border measures, due diligence and audits and enforcement work.

Kolkata-based IP specialist DP Ahuja & Co boasts more than 20 attorneys, five litigating counsels and five technical associates, with additional offices in New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Pune. The firm is known for its prosecution work, especially in the areas of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, telecommunications, material sciences, chemistry, textiles, space and rocket technology, and armaments. 

Established in 2008, Fidus Law Chambers is a boutique IP law firm in Noida. Its client portfolio includes Fortune 500 corporations and multinationals as well as small and medium enterprises and startups. The firm offers services for searching, filing, prosecution, oppositions and cancellations, renewals/ payment of annuities, multi-jurisdictional counselling on trademark law. Its IP coverage includes trademarks, patents, copyrights and designs, with its litigation practice encompassing internet laws, media, entertainment and telecommunication laws, trade secrets, advertising and unfair competition and regulatory laws. 

Groverlaw, founded in 2013 by former Remfry & Sagar lawyer Vikram Grover, is a Gurugram-based corporate, commercial and litigation practice which has established itself as an important player in Indian legal circles. The firm recently concluded a case for Procter & Gamble against a company which was engaged in the sale of spurious beauty care products in the Delhi area.

H.K. Acharya & Company was established in 1977 in Ahmedabad, and is one of the region’s most visible firms. Led today by the personable Rajeshkumar Acharya, the firm has a reputation for quality work. Acharya holds an M.S. in chemistry and a doctorate in pharmaceutical chemistry, and is registered to practice before the Indian and Canadian patent and trademark offices. Harsha R. Acharya is the firm’s managing partner; she brings an in-depth understanding of business strategies. The firm was named runner-up for Ahmedabad Firm of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards.

Indus Law has offices in Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. The firm advises on IP protection, advisory, cross-border IP registration, litigation and dispute resolution, anti-counterfeiting actions, transactional IP, commercialization and valuation support. Partners Aditi Verma Thakur and Suneeth Katarki, both from Bangalore are key contacts. Thakur co-leads the IP team while Katarki is partner-in-charge of the group.

New Delhi-based Inttl Advocare is a full-service IP firm, which was established in 1991 by noted litigator Hemant Singh. The firm’s clientele includes leading brands in foods and beverages, liquor, garments, cosmetics, FMCG, computer software, pharmaceuticals and other sectors. Senior partner Preetika Singh brings three decades of experience to the firm and receives high praise from clients. 

Ira Law was established in July 2018 by former Anand and Anand senior partner Binny Kalra and four other lawyers, all of whom were previously lawyers at Anand and Anand: Abhilasha Nautiyal, Aditya Gupta, Kruttika Vijay and Raunaq Kamath. The firm, which is based in New Delhi, is non-hierarchical; each lawyer lists his or her position as “attorney at law.” The firm focuses on intellectual property laws, litigation and dispute resolution, insolvency and winding up, transactional advice, competition law, consumer protection laws, data privacy and protection, and media and advertising. The firm was named the Rising Star of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards.

New Delhi-based Juriskps Law Offices serves its clients in the courts and tribunals at Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The firm has handled trademark cases for the Indian Badminton League and the Indian Post Office Bank, among others.

Kalinga Legal Services boasts of a team of lawyers with diverse backgrounds and high-level expertise. The team is led by CEO Som Patra who has more than 14 years of experience in the field of patents and has 15 granted patents in automotive technology. 

Boutique IP K&S Partners made its name through prosecution work. The firm has offices in Bangalore, Gurugram, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and New Delhi.

Commercial law firm Khaitan & Co has a respected IP practice with offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru. Partners Adheesh Nargolkar, Nishad Nadkarni, Shailendra Bhandare and Smriti Yadav are key contacts. The firm’s clients include Tata Group Companies, Novartis, Amazon, Godrej Group, Menarini Asia-Pacific Holdings and CK Birla Corporate Services. The firm was named IP Prosecution Firm of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards, as well as a runner-up in the Mumbai category.

Khurana & Khurana delivers end-to-end IP prosecution, litigation and commercial law and licensing services. Its local (New Delhi, NCR, Pune, Mumbai, Indore, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Punjab and Chennai) and international offices in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand allow its 150 or so professionals to provide the needs of its more than 3,000 corporations that make up the firm’s clientele. The firm was named Licensing & Franchising Firm of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards.

King Stubb & Kasiva has been a key player in the Indian intellectual property arena for more than a decade. The results-oriented firm also has key food; health care, pharma and life sciences; IT; and TMT practices which complement the IP practice. The team has stellar reputations for TMT sourcing and disputes, intellectual property litigation and brand protection as well as data protection work. Its clients include parts of the Tata group, Johnson Controls, Make My Trip, Aviva and Lenovo. Bengaluru-based anaging partner Jidesh Kumar is noted for his technology transfer, due diligence and corporate work. The firm was runner-up for Bengaluru Firm of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards.

Chennai-based Savitha Kesav Jagadeesan leads the IP practice at Kochhar & Co, one of India’s leading commercial law firms. The firm has represented footwear maker Bata in sending an infringement notice to the creators of the movie Jolly LLB 2 for using the name of the company and “damaging its reputation.” The firm has also advised Amaraja Batteries, tubing manufacturer Roll-Kraft and Godrej-Boyce. Senior partner Tarvinder Singh is a key contact at the firm.

A full-service IP law firm, Krishna & Saurastri Associates delivers its services to all major industries. Among its practice areas are IP counseling, prosecution, litigation and transactions covering patents, trademarks, copyrights, designs, geographical indications, plant varieties, domain names and semiconductor IC layouts. The firm has its headquarters in Mumbai, and offices in New Delhi, Bangalore, Pune and Ahmedabad; it was named Mumbai Firm of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards.

Krishnamurthy & Co, also known as K Law, is a full-service law firm with more than 85 lawyers. Nikhil Krishnamurthy heads the firm’s intellectual property and media and entertainment divisions at K Law; he has considerable experience in IP litigation, prosecution, licensing and enforcement matters and has managed the IP enforcement campaigns of leading luxury and pharmaceutical brands and software companies. He has represented a wide array of clients in the media and entertainment and IT industries, including music publishers, collecting societies, authors and composers, radio stations, film production houses, record labels, actors, performing artists, fashion designers, models, intermediaries, and internet market platforms. The firm was named Bengaluru Firm of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards.

Commercial firm Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan has a sizeable IP team. Renowned litigator V. Lakshmikumaran is a founding partner and also a key contact. Principal partner and IP head R. Parthasarathy, life sciences group leader Malathi Lakshmikumaran and engineering group leader Damodar Vaidya are key practitioners. The firm advises on all matters of IP, including geographical indications, plant variety protection and regulatory matters. 

Managing partner Raghav Malik leads the team at Lall & Sethi in Delhi, which won multiple awards at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards, including New Delhi and NCR Firm of the Year. The firm focuses on trademarks, copyrights, designs, patents, confidential information and trade secrets, entertainment and sports laws and information technology laws. The firm prides itself on having a top-notch IT system; its IP Management Software, developed in-house, ensures that timely responses are sent and deadlines are strictly adhered to. The firm was founded in 1994 by Chander Lall and Sandeep Sethi, both of whom have been elevated to senior advocates. Partners Anju Khanna, Tia Malik and Jyotideep Kaur are key contacts.

Key IP practitioners at New Delhi-based LexOrbis include Manisha Singh and Abhai Pandey. The firm was successful in a domain name complaint filed with the WIPO against the misuse of the domain name www.indiafashionweek.com on behalf of the Fashion Design Council of India, even though the other party had been the owner of the disputed domain name for almost 14 years. The firm was named Asia IP Patent Firm of the Year for India at the 2019 Asia IP Awards in Taipei, and IP Prosecution Firm of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards.

Little & Co., a 160-year-old firm, provides both contentious and non-contentious services. Among its partners are Dara P. Mehta, who has been practicing as an advocate since 1955 and as a solicitor since 1957, and Jayendra P. Kapadia who has been practicing as an advocate since 1976.

LR Swami Co is a Chennai-based IP boutique. Key clients include the Raj Group, American Megatrends, Double Horse, Bharathi Cement, Royal Sundaram, TV9 and the Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialties Centre chain.

New Delhi-based L&L Partners, formerly known as Luthra & Luthra, is a top law firm whose IP practice is led by partners Gayatri Roy and Nirupam Lodha. The firm represented Médecins Sans Frontiéres (Doctors Without Borders) (MSF) in an action against Nadiadwala Grandsons Entertainment, whose motion picture Phantom portrayed MSF in a negative light by indicating that the NGO maintained links with fanatic groups.

Founded and headquartered in Kolkata, L.S. Davar & Co. is a full-service intellectual property law firm founded in1932; it operates today as one of the oldest IP law firms in India, led by chairman and patent lawyer G.S. Davar and managing partner Joshita Davar Khemani. The firm protects and enforces portfolios for a wide variety of clients, including Fortune 500 companies across many sectors, and the Indian government and government entities. The firm provides services throughout South Asia with a network of associated firms. It was named IP Boutique of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards.

The team at Mason & Associates is led by managing partner Neel Mason, a highly-regarded IP practitioner. The firm has recently worked on a case in relation to compression technology in the mobile phone industry and a product patent case in relation to a formulation that helped in improving kidney function, as well as a trademark case concerning whether the registering of key words in an online AdWords program amounts to an infringement of trademark. Clients include Perrigo, Google India, Super Cassettes Industries, YouTube and Oxford University Press. 

Mehta & Mehta Associates in Gurugram is led by Ramesh Kr. Mehta, who comes recommended for IP work. The firm assists both national and international clients on all IP related-issues, both contentious and non-contentious. Clients include MNCs, institutions, organizations and individuals. The firm is recognized for its techno-legal inputs, and cost-effective approach. A client notes that it has “close to 100% success in prosecution outside India.”

General practice firm Mulla & Mulla & Craigie Blunt & Caroe has offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. The firm’s IP team is active advising clients in the media and entertainment industry, including singer Lata Mangeshkar and best-selling author Amish Tripathi.

Led by founding partner Essenese Obhan, Obhan & Associates represents clients from various industries, most notably the technology (including mechanical, life sciences, software and electronics), publishing and media and real estate sectors. While it was established as an IP boutique, the firm has also set up a corporate department led by Ashima Obhan, who also handles M&A, finance and real estate matters.

Gurugram-based Rahul Chaudhry & Partners, formerly known as Lall Lahiri & Salhotra, is led by managing partner Rahul Chaudhry, who has owned the firm since March 31, 2013. The team, team composition, team structure including the partners and support staff continues to be the same as that of LLS. The firm offers reliable, business-centric legal counsel to both national and international clients. Founding partner Anuradha Salhotra, and senior partner Veena Poolakal are key contacts. The firm was named Pharma, Biotech & Life Sciences Firm of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards.

IP powerhouse Remfry & Sagar is a go-to firm for multinationals in India. The firm is advising the World Trade Centers Association in ongoing enforcement work in which damages to the tune of Rs5 million (US$75,000) have been claimed. In one matter, relating to use of the company’s trademarks and service marks. The firm traveled to a work site in Nashik, Maharashtra, with local police to remove signage when it was learned that the infringing company was flouting a High Court order to cease using the marks. A main suit is pending with the High Court of Bombay. Led by managing partner Ashwin Julka, the firm won multiple awards at the 2020 Asia IP Awards, including runner-up for the National IP Firm of the Year.

IP specialist RK Dewan & Co handles both contentious and non-contentious work. The firm is one of the largest filers of domestic Indian patent applications. Principal Mohan Dewan has more than 40 years of IP experience. The firm represents more than 4,000 clients of all sizes and most fields, including software, automobiles, heavy engineering, chemical engineering, defense equipment, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, nanotechnology and food packaging technology. The firm was runner-up for Mumbai Firm of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards.

Ranjan Narula leads RNA, Technology and IP Attorneys from its Gurugram base. The firm recently acted for Puma in seeking a permanent injunction restraining infringement of trademark, passing off, damages, delivery up before the Delhi High Court against Pasco Sports, which was engaged in manufacturing and marketing footwear and filed several trademark applications for registration of deceptively similar marks and owned the domain name www.pamasports.com. The court granted ex- parte interim injunction and appointed a local commissioner to visit the defendant’s premises, where 350 pairs of infringing sports shoes and 35 bags bearing the PAMA mark were seized. Pasco has since changed its mark to ZAMA. The firm won multiple awards at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards, including Enforcement Firm of the Year and, was runner-up for the New Delhi and NCR Firm of the Year.

The team behind Royzz & Co is a mixture of lawyers and engineers whose combined backgrounds and expertise allow the firm to deliver services that merge the business, scientific and creative components of legal matters. The firm has its main office in Mumbai but also has a presence in Chennai, Delhi and Pune. Its IP practice covers copyright, trademark, design, geographical indication, patent, anti-counterfeiting and IP Valuation.

Kolkata-based S Majumdar & Co has acted for generic drug makers Natco Pharma and GM Pharma in patent proceedings against AstraZeneca before the Delhi High Court. Founding partner S Majumdar is a well-praised practitioner and an expert in patent matters. The firm bagged the Kolkata Firm of the Year Award at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards.

Boutique firm SS Rana & Co is one of the very few IP firms in India registered as Advocate-on-Record with the Supreme Court. Managing partner Vikrant Rana oversees the practice. The firm acted as instructing counsel to the respondent in Lal Babu Priyadarshi v. Amrit Pal Singh, a case in which the Supreme Court of India dismissed the appellant’s appeal and ruled that no person can claim the name of a holy book – in this case, Ramayan, a holy book for Hindus – as a trademark for goods or services marketed. 

Managing partner Sagar Chandra leads the team at Sagar Chandra & Associates in New Delhi. Ishani Chandra is also a key contact.

IP specialist Saikrishna & Associates has worked with international clients including Microsoft, Walt Disney, Pfizer and Star India. Founding partner Saikrishna Rajagopal is noted for work on anti-piracy matters. Ameet Datta and Bharatvir Singh are also key contacts. The firm won multiple awards at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards, including IP Litigation Firm of the Year.

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co is one of the surviving firms out of the 2015 dissolution of Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co. Based in New Delhi, Dev Robinson is the national practice head of the firm’s IP practice, in which he advises on a host of IP matters involving trademarks, trade dress, names, goodwill, copyright, designs and transactions involving commercial exploitation of intellectual property. Robinson’s clients include Honeywell, Texas Instruments, Motorola, Sony and Ericsson.

Raja Selvam started Selvam & Selvam in 2007 as a boutique IP firm. With over nine years of experience, he focuses his practice on all aspects related to trademark and domain disputes including prosecution, litigation, IP transactions like licensing and transfers, IP audits and due diligence, and brand acquisition and market entry. The firm was recently involved in the consolidation of the trademark portfolio of an Indian FMCG Fortune 500 Company subsequent to their de-merger. The firm counts 24 Hour Fitness, Workday, Cartier, Fromageries Bel, Crabtree & Evelyn and Xerox among its clientele. The firm was runner-up for Chennai Firm of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards.

Singh & Associates is headed by managing partner Manoj K. Singh. Clients include Autorobot Finland, British Telecommunications, Penthouse, Sony and Xiaomi.

Singh & Singh was founded by Maninder Singh and Pratibha Singh in 1999, both of whom have been elevated to the position of senior advocate; Maninder Singh is currently Additional Solicitor General of India. The firm handles a variety of IP, media and telecommunications, arbitration, competition law, tax, pharma regulatory matters. The firm has five partners and four associate partners working with more than 40 attorneys and patent agents. Bitika Sharma and Sudeep Chatterjee are particularly well-regarded; Saya Choudhary is recommended for patent work. The firm was named Copyright Firm of the Year for India at the 2019 Asia IP Awards in Taipei; it won multiple awards at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards, including runner-up honors in the National IP Firm of the Year category.

New Delhi-based Singhania & Partners is a leading full-service law firm, with branch offices in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Gurugram. The firm provides advice in IP, dispute resolution, corporate and commercial, M&A and other areas. Clients include large and medium Indian and foreign businesses, multinational corporations, and Fortune 500 companies, as well as ministries, government authorities and public sector undertakings.
Founded in 2007 by Sunita K Sreedharan, IP boutique SKS Law Associates is growing its presence. Sreedharan is praised by clients for her understanding of various legal approaches. Emphasizing patents, the firm offers service regarding licensing and technology transfer, protection of trade secrets and biodiversity-related issues. For a select clientele, the firm also conducts IP audits and carries out competitive intelligence. The firm was named IP Boutique of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards. 

Mumbai-based Solomon & Co. was founded in 1909. With offices in Mumbai and Pune, its clientele includes government entities, local and multinational companies, banks, non-profit organizations and individuals. Its practitioners work with locally-based lawyers with contacts in various Indian cities, including New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata.

New Delhi-based IP boutique Subramaniam & Associates has Pfizer, F Hoffmann-La Roche and Procter & Gamble on its clients list. The firm is led by leading practitioner Hari Subramaniam, who has in-depth knowledge of the medical sector. Shalina Ahuja is also a key contact.

Sushant M Singh & Associates is known for its patent contentious work. Indian Oil, Castrol, GlaxoSmithKline, Infosys and Crompton Greaves are clients. Based in New Delhi, managing partner Sushant Singh is an experienced litigator and key contact. 

Titus & Co represents clients from the US, Europe, Australia and Asia, including 59 Fortune 500 companies. The New Delhi-based firm has associate offices all over India and in other parts of the world including London, Milan, New York and Colombo. 

One of the oldest law firms in India, Wadia Ghandy & Co provides high-quality IP service with a sharp business touch. Headquartered in Mumbai, the firm has branch offices in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and Singapore.

Founded in 1942, W.S. Kane & Co. is one of the oldest IP firms in India. The firm originally specialized in intellectual property but has also branched out into dispute resolution. Leading practitioners include Himanshu Kane, a solicitor and IP lawyer for over 45 years with an extensive experience in litigation and non-litigation in all fields of intellectual property; Ashutosh Kane, a key member of the IP prosecution and dispute resolution team; and Rahul Kadam who has been handling trademark and copyright filing, prosecution and litigation for more than 25 years.

Ahmedabad-based Y.J. Trivedi & Co won multiple awards at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards, including Enforcement Firm of the Year and Ahmedabad Firm of the Year. The firm is noted for handling complex IP matters locally, nationally and internationally, and boasts a team with members coming from varied backgrounds, including chemistry, engineering, biology and law. The firm also has offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Jaipur. Senior partner Jatin Trivedi has been practicing both as an advocate and as a patent and trademark attorney since 1999.

Named IP Boutique of the Year at the 2020 Asia IP India Awards, ZeusIP has represented Red Bull seeking a permanent injunction against the proprietor of the Red Bull Health Club & Multi Gym in Kerala before the Delhi High Court, which granted an ex parte interim injunction restraining the defendant from using the Red Bull trademark and logo in any manner. Managing partner Gunjan Paharia heads up the practice. Naveen Varma, Naqeeb Nawab and Preksha Sharma are key contacts.