Legal Advise

The Conference for protection and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights was the first of its kind in the North-Eastern region and was graced by the esteemed presence of the prominent dignitaries and luminaries. As they shared their experiences in one of the most volatile regions of the country, they enlightened the attendees with their following views on the IPR regime in India: a) Mr. Jayanto N. Choudhury (Director General of Police, Assam) – The Hon’ble DGP highlighted the importance of educating everyone on the knowledge of Trademarks, Copyrights and Patents infringements. He stated that, due to the technology boom, piracy has become very easy and counterfeiters have become increasingly smart. However, due to the lack of expertise and incremental improvement in technology, it has become very difficult for the general public to identify the original product and distinguish it from the counterfeit one. He said that, “State Police is working on it, but we have a long way to go”. b) Mr. Mukesh Sahay (Additional Director General of Police) – The Hon’ble ADGP mentioned the vitality of a collective effort from not only the enforcement machinery, but also the industry and most importantly the public at large. In the Indian scenario, there have been various instances where not only the buyer/ultimate consumer, but also the seller of goods is not aware of his dealing in fake goods and of the gravity of the offence committed. He stressed that educating the consumers along-with people from the market and trade associations is something that cannot be overlooked. c) Ms T. Jamir (Deputy Commissioner of Customs) – The learned Deputy Commissioner, while discussing the crucial role of Customs in curbing the menace of counterfeiting, emphasized the importance of stopping the goods at the borders and prevent them from entering the country. She said that, “The Custom Laws are now well in place, but are still at their nascent stage. With the enactment of the Intellectual Property Rights (Imported Goods) Enforcement Rules, 2007, the Custom Authorities have been vested with necessary powers to nail the counterfeiters. Such workshops are extremely important to sensitize the Custom officers in acting against the counterfeiters.” She also highlighted the social and moral issues associated with counterfeit activities. The conference was attended by people from all spheres, including the enforcement and investigative agencies, vis-à-vis, Police and Custom personnel, as well as officials from the industry and learned members from the Bar. The conference aptly brought out the product identification instances of various participating brands such as  LACOSTE, Polo Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, and RayBan.The conference was widely covered by the print as well as digital media and was published in newspapers including The Times of India, The Sentinel Assam, Seven Sisters Post, The Telegraph and others.

In the revolution era, young entrepreneurs are unleashing wave of start-up activities, trying to work on innovative business ideas. PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry took a nationwide initiative to provide practical solutions/ mentoring sessions for start-ups. Objective The program is aimed to equip entrepreneurs with basic necessary skills and insights to accelerate their entrepreneurial journey and build scale for success. The program provides tangible insights into specific subjects of daily interest to entrepreneurs, something they cannot obtain elsewhere and provide detailed information and practical tips from practitioners or experienced players. Participants & Attendees The participants included eminent members in the sphere of start-ups: Apoorv Sharma, President Venture Catalysts; Bikky Khosla, Trade India, SME times; Mr. Yogesh Bansal, Entrepreneur & Angel Investor; Neeraj Kumar Singhal, Angel Investor; Ashish Mittal, Investor, Ex Google, MS; Mr. Sunny Narang, Anglian Futures; Dr. Anand Shrivastav, SEED; Mr. Shailesh Vikram Singh, Seedfund; and Avinash Raghava, iSPIRT foundation. Outcome The Seminar included 3 panel discussions, the agenda panel included: Dynamics of Start-up Ecosystem Being a wise Angel Investor Last mile inclusion through creation of new angel Investor The session focused on helping participants understand the loopholes in their business models and equip them with the framework and tools to refine their business models.

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) organized the conference and exhibition “Made in Afghanistan” in collaboration with the Afghanistan Trade and Revenue Project (ATAR) of USAID. The Made in Afghanistan Conference & Exhibition aimed to bring together key stakeholders including Ministers, Senior Officials from Government, CEOs/ Managing Directors/Heads of International Department of various Private and Public Sector Companies at a common platform to share and showcase business opportunities for companies from both the sides. Objective Afghanistan is strategically located between the Energy-Rich regions of Central Asia and the Cruicial Seaports of South Asia, thus provides a key transit route for Central Asian markets (including oil and gas markets) in South Asia as well as overseas. The participants included UN Women, PTC India, Afghanistan Women Federation, SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ATAR, KEC International, Global AgriSystem Pvt. Ltd., Export Promotion Agency of Afghanistan, The Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and Govt of Afghanistan. Participants & Attendees The Conference included three sessions, the agenda panel included: Inaugural cum Ministerial Session Trade & Investment Opportunities in Afghanistan Revitalizing Agriculture for Growth, Jobs and Food Security & Supply Chain Management in Afghanistan Outcome The session focused on Afghanistan’s investment & business policy and investment opportunities in agriculture. 50% of households of country depends on the income from agriculture. Private Sector Development and involvement is critical for the development of Afghanistan. This Conference & exhibition would help generate avenues for collaboration and joint ventures, in the long run, in the sectors of fresh fruit, dry fruit, carpet, jewellery made of semi-precious stone and marbles and help Afghanistan to reduce its dependence on international aid.

United IPR is empaneled with several R&D based Governmental Organizations and Institutions for handling IPR related matters. These organizations have large Patent portfolios and they file extensive patent applications in India and abroad. In continuation with these empanelments, United IPR has been selected by Triguna Sen School of Technology, Assam University, Silchar for handling IPR related matters for coming 3 Years. Triguna Sen School of Technology comes under the Assam University. It was established in the Year 2006 with two specialized streams including Computer Science & Engineering. Other streams of specialization include Agricultural Engineering and Electronics & Communication. Triguna Sen School of Technology comes under the Assam University. It was established in the Year 2006 with two specialized streams including Computer Science & Engineering. Other streams of specialization include Agricultural Engineering and Electronics & Communication.

In a first of its kind IPR training for the Custom Officers at the port of Jaipur Air Cargo and Jaipur Inland Container Depot, United IPR organized a training at the NACIN (National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics), Jaipur Zonal Campus on 28th December 2018. The training focused on the procedure and practice followed and also the problems encountered by the Right-holders as well as the Customs in the enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights at the territorial borders. Additionally, the emphasis was to create sensitization on enforcement of IPR laws by Customs through illustrations of best practices followed at other ports in India. Customs IPR Training Held in Jaipur The training was presided over by the Learned Deputy Commissioner of Customs Mr. Naresh Bundel and it was attended by approximately 40 officers across the field formations and preventive groups of the Air Cargo and Dry Port in Jaipur. The participating right-holders included ARMANI, AUDEMARS PIGUET, BVLGARI, BURBERRY, COTY, FOSSIL, G-STAR, LIMITED BRANDS, LVMH Watches Brands (TAG HEUER, ZENITH & HUBLOT), MONSTER ENERGY and PROCTER & GAMBLE. Active Participation & Constructive Feedback from Customs Officials Customs officials attended the training enthusiastically and shared constructive feedback on the various guidelines and mechanisms shared on behalf of the right-holders. The Custom Officials acknowledged that this is a fundamental step and an ideal platform for interaction between the public and private players to share their experiences, exchange best practices and facilitate better inter-agency coordination with respect to enforcement of IPRs.

Focused on Legal Provisions, Investigation Procedures & Anti-Counterfeiting Strategies 1. Venue of Training: Central Detective Training Institute, CGO Complex, Kamla Nehru Nagar, Near Hapur Road, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh-201002 2. Police Academy: Central Detective Training Institute, Ghaziabad 3. Coordinator-In-charge: Mr. Suryakant Patil 4. Number of Participants: 25 Police officers 5. Topics covered: The following topics were discussed: • Introduction to Intellectual Property Rights with a brief overview of different IP. • Relevant statutory provisions in the Trade Marks Act, 1999; Patent Act, 1970; Copyright Act, 1957; Information Technology Act, 2000; Indian Penal Code, 1860; The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; and Evidence Act, 1872. • Procedure for carrying out raid – roles and responsibilities of Police. • Relevant notifications, case laws and other legal principles dealing with both Civil and Criminal enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights. • Investigating IP crimes with the help of various case studies. • Counterfeiting and Piracy in the Digital World – Challenges and Solutions, Understanding Social and Economic Impacts of Counterfeiting and Piracy. •Brand Identification Presentations to curb the menace of counterfeiting. 6. The objective of Training: The training was aimed to enlighten the Police officials on different aspects of the investigation of infringement of Intellectual Property Rights and equipping them with key skills necessary to monitor and control the manufacture and sale of counterfeit products by sharing specific inputs and intelligence of suspicious markets.