India, recently, witnessed rapid changes in its patenting landscape. These changes were result of growing economic activity and various Intellectual Property reforms taken up by the government. Today, the number of patents filed in India rose to 66,440 in the financial year 2021-22 as against to 42,763 patents filed in 2014-15, posting an increase of over 50% in a span of seven years. Similarly, grant of Patents in 2021-22 surged to 30,074, which is nearly five times increase when compared with 2014-15 when the total number of patents granted was 5,978.
Most interestingly, during January-March 2022, the total number of patents filed stood at 19,796. Out of these, 10,706 were filed by Indian applicants while non-Indian applicants filed 9,090 patent applications. First time in past several years, Domestic filings have surpassed Foreign filings of patent applications in India. The coordinated efforts of Intellectual Property reforms taken up by DIPP, Indian Patent Offices and Industry experts have raised the confidence of Applicants/Start-ups/Companies that they can protect their intellectual property rights. Start-ups are aggressive about protecting their tech innovations, discoveries, breakthroughs, and patents at any cost.
One among these industry experts isc
Shraddha is a tech-enthusiast and a competent and dynamic professional with a distinguished and insightful exposure of 15 years focusing on intellectual property, patents – prosecution, contentious and licensing. She is proficient in all areas of patent law, from drafting, searching and analysis to prosecution at the Indian patent office. As a qualified lawyer, she not only looks after Patent Protections but also deals with Oppositions, Revocations and Infringement in various forums, including High Courts.
Her practice covers many technology areas, including Artificial Intelligence, Consumer Appliances and Electronics, Data Storage and Software Solutions, Hybrid Engines, Internet-Of Things (IoT), Medical Devices, Renewable Energy, Semiconductor Assemblies, and Telecommunications (including 3G, 4G and 5G).
Shraddha, is one of its type, who specializes in conducting Essentiality Evaluation of Patents conforming to standards for several telecommunication bodies and is acting as a LEAD EVALUATOR for IPEC.
Shraddha also specializes in dealing with Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) and has been acting as a technical lead in various SEP Infringement matters.
Apart from technology, Shraddha specializes in advising and drafting various Patent License/Technology Transfer/Technical Know-how license Agreements and Contracts.
Before entering the legal profession, Shraddha was extensively involved in the Research and Development of products related to Optical Media, Solid State Storage devices and Photovoltaic cells.
Shraddha graduated in Bachelors of Technology (EC) from Uttar Pradesh Technical University), Lucknow in June 2005. After working for couple of years as a Patent Engineer, Shraddha realized to pursue law from CCS University, UP and was admitted to Bar Council of Delhi in 2014. She is not only a qualified lawyer but also an efficacious Patent Agent.
Shraddha is passionate about IP and has been involved in creating awareness among all strata of society through training and awareness programs organized by CIPAM (Cell for IPR Promotion and Management). She is also a visiting guest Faculty to Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Intellectual Property (RGNIIPM), Nagpur.
Destined to be the Inspirational Leader
About her inspiration behind entering the legal sector, Shraddha says, “Although I come from a legal family, I entered into legal space because of my destiny. I was working with the R&D department of Moserbaer where I was first introduced to Intellectual Property Rights, particularly, Patents. ”
It was there when Shraddha was asked to technically support the in-house legal team in the then-ongoing litigation (Patent Infringement Suits related to VCD/DVD) against Philips. Subsequently, she got involved in other IP related issues and later on moved to India’s Leading IP firm, Anand and Anand.
Shraddha adds, “After that, there was no looking back, and today after spending good 14 years in the firm and dealing with all aspects of Patents, I consider myself a true IP professional.”
An Intellectual Challenger
According to Shraddha, when she entered the legal sector, Legal Training was the biggest challenge as the most of things were learnt on job. There was no book of procedures and rules which would teach to prepare legal documents. It was something she learned through practice, and therefore, the learning was a slow and a time consuming process.
Another challenge was keeping oneself apprised of the latest technological developments in various sector of technologies. The combination of law and technology was unique to the practice of Patent Law and developing proficiency in both the subjects came with a lot of hard work and reading.
Shraddha states, “In addition to that when we talk about IP space in India, it is still evolving.”
The Indian Patent Office and Indian Courts are not specialized in dealing with IP matters, particularly, Patents. Therefore, the real challenge comes in presenting these matters in front of these forums. Slowly, things are changing for betterment and with the continued support of government, soon, we all will be ushering in new IP regime in India.
Anand and Anand: The Benchmark of Legal Excellence
Anand and Anand is a full-service IP law firm providing end-to-end legal solutions covering all cross-sections of Intellectual Property and allied areas. The firm is professionally managed by a Partnership board comprising 31 Partners, supported by a management team consisting of a CEO, CFO and CIO.
Shraddha conveys, “We undertake strategic intellectual property counselling and provide extensive and reliable services for evaluating, filing and pursuing patent, trademark, copyright and design applications, and also undertake contestation and opposition/revocation before patent bodies and courts.”
The firm currently employs almost 300 people, including 100 qualified attorneys/engineers. The firm has offices in New Delhi, Noida, Chennai and Mumbai. Shraddha adds, “Key to our practice is our professionalism and the pervasive and informed role we allow for our clients.”
The firm’s clients consist of several Fortune 500 and large multinational and Indian companies representing a broad spectrum of industries, including healthcare, electronics, consumer goods, industrial goods, automobiles, energy, telecommunications, financial institutions, hospitality, and entertainment.
“At the fore, our scientific and technical experience in understanding innovations accurately enables us to focus on our clients’ legal needs. Many of our Lawyers/Patent Agents also possess scientific and engineering qualifications,” informs Shraddha.
The firm has an extensive intellectual infrastructure in all aspects related to Patent registrations, Trademark registrations, copyright registrations and IP monetization, as well as in-licensing and franchising.
“Further, we have been involved in building patent portfolios for our clients from their inception, and these clients now feature amongst the top Indian Patent filers,” says Shraddha.
The firm also has an in-house anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy team dedicated to providing clients with proactive and robust legal protection for safeguarding their brand identities in the commercial space.
Shraddha reveals, “Our team has been involved in counselling several research institutions in India and conducts training and awareness programmers to inculcate an appreciation for protecting patent-implemented inventions.”
Anand And Anand regularly deal with the protection of IP and prosecution of contentious IP matters in different forums, including the Courts at all levels, the Patent Offices, the Trademark Offices, the Design Office, the WIPO the National Internet Exchange of India.
Shraddha says, “We balance commercial realities with legal pragmatism and draw on our well-honed expertise and instinct in the field, coupled with a profound understanding of intellectual property management in India.”
Services offered in detail are as follows:
- IP Creation: Drafting, Filing and Prosecution
- IP Protection: Opposition, Revocation and Maintenance
- IP Enforcement: Litigation, Mediation and Arbitration
- IP Commercialization: Licensing, Technology Transfer and Valuation
- IP Risk Management: Landscape Study, Freedom-to-Operate and Infringement Investigations
The firm has a keen interest in innovation and offers creative solutions that tackle the root and not merely the symptoms of a problem. Culturally the firm thrives on challenges, creative thinking and constant improvement of its legal knowledge and skills.
The spirited character of the firm is the keystone of its growth and expansion into new areas of IP, which have been embraced with ease and zest. The firm remains committed to setting standards of excellence in the field and of impeccable services to clients.
Anand And Anand has been regularly awarded as Intellectual Property Firm of the year by various International bodies such as Managing IP, Indian Business Law Journal, Asia IP, Legal Era and many more.
The Impact of Tech Advancements:
As per Shraddha, technological advancements in the law space are significantly visible in virtual hearings, digitization of physical documents, online filing of documents, and digital signature on soft copies of documents. Several other technological means also exist, such as AI, etc., which may also help cut down the pendency of courts.
The Specialist Strategic Litigator
Shraddha says that patent law is a specialized field and having expertise in patent law allows her to advise corporates, academicians, and start-ups to cater for their IP needs in the best possible way. Therefore, suggesting strategies for creating an IP Portfolio or achieving the best licensing deals makes her the specialist IPR litigator.
A Brilliant Counsel
Shraddha’s advice to aspiring legal enthusiasts who are willing to step into the legal space today exemplifies her sheer brilliance. According to her, aspiring legal enthusiasts should be determined to work hard and read a lot to excel in the legal area.
Apart from conventional legal fields, several new and specialized legal fields are evolving in India, providing enormous opportunities for young enthusiasts to excel and perform.
Shraddha concludes, “Indian legal space is evolving and offers many opportunities to set new precedents and provide more efficient and quick legal solutions.”
