KIIT World Intellectual Property Week Celebration-2021 at KIIT School of Law

On May 14, 2021

The Center for Intellectual Property Studies (CIPS) under KIIT School of Law organized a weeklong celebration from April 19-26, 2021 in virtual mode on the occasion of the World Intellectual Property Day, which is observed on 26th April. The IP Week Celebrations witnessed IP debates, quizzes, interaction with alumni, along with discussion sessions with senior academicians and IP practitioners on research and professional aspects of IP for honing the skills and knowledge of the students.

The celebrations were inaugurated on 26th April with a webinar on Geographical Indications and Protection of Local Products in a Global Economy by Mr. Luca Valente and Ms. Giovanna Paola Girardi, two prolific international IP practitioners. The resource persons, through real-time case studies and anecdotes, explained and discussed the GI protection in the European jurisdiction, the GI international trends, problems in the GI protection in the EU, etc.

‘Alumni Talks’, a special segment, was organized by CIPS on 21st April 2021. Alumni Ms. Bagmisikha Puhan, Associate Partner at TMT Law Practice, Mr. Nitin Abhishek, Assistant Manager-Legal at UltraTech Cement Ltd., and Mr. Vivek Ayyagiri, Senior Associate at SaiKrishna Associates, graced the event as eminent speakers talking about their experiences in the field.

As a part of the celebrations, a webinar was organized with the senior IP practitioners on 23rd April 2021. The resource persons for the event were Mr. Zameer Nathani, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, UFO Moviez India Limited, Mr. Shantanu Sood, Managing Partner at Quest IP, Mr. Vikrant Rana, Managing Partner at S.S. Rana & Co. New Delhi and Mr. Abhayan Jawaharlal, Deputy General Counsel, Cipla, shared their legal acumen with the participants. The object of this event was to give a broad outline of the interesting facts surrounding Intellectual Property. The speakers included general counsels from predominant industries, and two managing partners of established law firms.

Another webinar on “Covid 19 Impact on Intellectual Property Assets” was organized on 24th April 2021, wherein prominent speakers of the IP field in India, namely Dr. Gargi Chakrabarti, Associate Professor Coordinator, IPR Chair at National Law University Jodhpur and Dr. Rajat Agarwal, Professor for Management Studies, IIT Roorkee graced the event. The panelists covered diverse areas and aspects, from the commercialization and monetization of Intellectual Property to the managerial aspects of IP Assets during COVID-19. The session emphasized how COVID has impacted IP creation and how the quality standard of IPs in India can be improved to push the boundaries of innovations.

The IP Week celebrations at the School of Law came to an end with a “Webinar on Intellectual Property: Changing Contours and the Road Ahead”, for the lead event on World Intellectual Property Day on 26th April. Mr. Pravin Anand, Managing Partner, Anand and Anand and Prof. Padmavati Manchikanti, Professor, Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property, IIT Kharagpur discussed IP, innovation and the IP ecosystem addressing the needs of start-ups, SME’s and local creativity.

Mr. Pravin Anand discussed the concept of creation, by stating how various jurisdiction and jurisprudence theories deal with the concept of creation and went on to share his personal experience in this field and especially the successful and failed IP registrations that he came across during his career. He emphasized the participation of all the stakeholders to increase the quantity and improve the quality of filings to promote innovation and more patent filing which would ensure enormous monetary transactions, thereby boosting the Indian Economy. Prof. Dr. M. Padmavati spoke about connection building and knowledge transformation among various stakeholders in the Techno-Legal Industry and highlighted the need for growth and advancement in the field of IP Academic and Research. She recommended connecting the research institutions with colleges for inculcating and promoting the IP search in the institutions and also stated the importance of safeguarding IP in R&D for generating revenue.

The faculty and student team of the CIPS organized the weeklong activities under the guidance of Prof. Dr.Bhavani Prasad Panda, Director, School of Law, KIIT. It was coordinated by Mr. Sudipta De Sarkar, Associate Dean (Training and Placement); Dr. Shreya Chatterjee, Assistant Professor II; Ms. Parimita Dash, Assistant Professor II; Ms. Sambhabi Patnaik, Assistant Professor I; Ms. Manisha Manaswini, Assistant Professor I; Ms. Rituparna De, Assistant Professor I; Mr. Sundar Athreya. H, Assistant Professor I; and Ms. Lipsa Dash, Faculty Associate, KIIT School of Law. The event was a success with active participation by the students, scholars, faculties.