Cipra

ABOUT THE CENTRE

The Centre for Intellectual Property Research and Advocacy [CIPRA] is an integral part of Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad. It was established to to help future lawyers hone their research and advocacy skills with a focus on Intellectual Property Rights [IPR] and to spread awareness of this developing area of law among students and the public at large. Since its inception in 2016, CIPRA has carried out various activities in furtherance of its goals, which include encouraging interdisciplinary research and to stimulate practical and theoretical aspects of IPRs into knowledge-based activities. Team CIPRA has conducted different workshops, competitions, discussions, quizzes, and debates. In the past 7 years, Team CIPRA has combined valuable work and has contributed to the growth of Intellectual Property and its awareness in the society through various initiatives taken up, such as the Geographical Indication [GI] Project, and is looking forward to actively figuring out areas of development in this field of law.

OBJECTIVE OF THE CENTRE

• To stimulate creativity in line with learning amongst the students of SLS-H.
• To increase students’ involvement in and understanding of Intellectual Property Rights.
• To stimulate both the practical and theoretical aspects of IPRs into knowledge-based activities.
• To develop an Intellectual Property Law database for the benefit of the students and the College.
• To develop a deeper understanding in the field of IPR as members.
• To work in parlance with the community, especially in the field of IPR through learning sessions, collaborations, etc.
• To utilize regional as well as state-level expertise of professionals in the domain of Intellectual Property Law and by imbibing such expertise into an industry-oriented Intellectual Property Law training centre.

Under the guidance of

• Dr. Santosh Aghav- Director,  SLSH
• Dr. Anuradha Binnuri – Deputy Director,  SLSH
• Ms. Nikita Samdariya - Faculty In-Charge,  CIPRA

ACTIVITIES IN CENTER

1. Workshop, ‘Know Your IP: Basics Of IPR', by Mr Bappaditya Saha and Ms Niharika Salar, 30th September, 2022

   The Workshop was organized by the Centre for Intellectual Property Research & Advocacy (hereinafter referred to as ‘CIPRA’) under the aegis of Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad (SLS-H) on 30th September, 2022. The speakers for the event were, Mr. Bappaditya Saha – Partner at BizRights IP and Ms. Niharika Salar – Assistant Professor at NALSAR, Hyderabad. The workshop was mainly for the first-year students, and to acquaint and create awareness among students concerning the various components of Intellectual Property. Throughout the workshop, both the speakers kept the students engaged. The importance of trademarking was emphasized upon by showing how new brands can piggy-back on one’s brands name which it hasn’t reserved its rights to.

   

2. Guest Lecture on ‘Careers in Law: Special Orientation in IPR’, by Adv. (Dr.) Shraddha Gujar Damle, 22nd September, 2022

   The Centre for Intellectual Property Research and Advocacy organized a guest lecture on “Careers in Law: Special Orientation in IPR”. The guest speaker for the event was Adv. (Dr.) Shraddha Gujar Damle, Patent and Trademark Attorney at JetSynthesys Pvt. Ltd., Pune. Regarding careers in the realm of intellectual property, Miss. Damle provided some insightful information. She also advised students to choose wisely between earning money and learning, and to constantly strive to obtain experience in the area of law that they are passionate about.

   

3. The Panel Discussion on the Non-Traditional Forms of Intellectual Property Rights

   The event was conducted on the 12th May, 2022. The Panel Discussion was a gathering of various reputed speakers who shared their insights about different aspects which are related to and effect the Non-Traditional forms of Intellectual Property Rights. The speakers were Ms. Garima Panwar, Mr. Anand Deshpande, Dr. Hina Kausar and Dr. Rupal Rautdesai. This discussion not only covered the basics of what are the non-traditional forms of intellectual property, it also covered how these are unique and different from the traditional intellectual property one might know. The importance and urgent need to protect these forms of intellectual property was spoken on in detail. These four speakers covered all the elements of non-traditional intellectual property and analyzed the relevant prospects.

   

   Poster for Panel discussion on”Non Traditional Forms of Intellectual Property”

   

   Distinguished panelists for the discussion

   

   Ma’am explaining the concept in Panel Discussion

4. Intellectual Property Movie Quiz Competition

   A movie quiz competition was hosted on November 19th, 2021, in support of the centre's aim to foster curiosity and learning in the field of Intellectual Property (IP). The competition was based on basic IP ideas. This competition offered a one-of-a-kind platform to pique the interest of any IP fanatic. The participants were asked to watch a movie for the same and answer questions based on it. The event was a success and enabled them to put their practical knowledge of IP rules to the test and get a better understanding of IPR.

   

   Poster for”Movie Quiz Competition on Intellectual Property”

5. National Symposium on the changing dynamics of IP for development

   The National symposium conducted by the cell focussed on the theme of the changing dynamics of IP for development. The symposium was conducted in the memory and honor of Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer. The symposium was presided over by esteemed guests, Mr. Shishira Rudrappa, the Managing Director of IDIA; Mr. Ameet Datta, Partner at Saikrishna & Associates, New Delhi; Mr. Nihas Basheer, WadiaGhandy & Co.; and Mr. Jatin Trivedi, Sr. Partner at Y J Trivedi & Co (Ahmedabad). Prof. T C James, President of NIPO, was the Chief Guest and Dr. Surya Mani Tripathi, Legal Counsel at ICRISAT (Hyderabad) was the Guest of Honor. The symposium was divided into two sessions after the addresses by the presiding guests and provided a comprehensive and brevised overview of the theme of the symposium. The event was conducted online, on October 10th, 2020.

   

   Poster for “National Symposium on Intellectual Property”

   
   

6. SymbiLIVE- To celebrate individuality and originality of thought

   CIPRA presented SymbiLIVE – to celebrate Individuality and Originality of Thought. This session aimed to reignite the passion in the law student. The three speakers from different fields were focused to let the students freely express their fears and doubts and to invoke their inner calling. The dialogue engaged was never seen before at SLSH. The speakers were Arveen Kaur Chugh, a student of GNLU, Megha Bhatia, LLM from University College London & Founder of Our Voix and Ms Nimisha Verma, founder of a non-profit organization called 'Home for artists'

   

   Poster for the event.

   

   Decorations for the event.

7. World IP Day Celebration

   Webinar on “Innovation and IP: Innovate for a Green Future
   The Centre for Intellectual Property Research and Advocacy organised a webinar on “Innovation and IP: Innovate for a Green Future”. The webinar was conducted by Dr Irene Calboli, Professor at Texas A & M, University, School of Law. This webinar aimed to link intellectual property with green technology and to make the young minds understand the necessity of development in this field for a better future.

   

   A screenshot from the session by Prof. Irene Calboli.

   
   

   IP Day Competitions
   The team in the essence of celebrating the World IP Day organized various competitions- IP Quiz, Article writing, Poster making and Digital art for the Students of SLSH. The winners were awarded cash prizes.

   

   Poster for the declaration of competitions

8. Guest Lecture on Business and IPR, Commercialisation of IP and Startup and IP

   The Centre for Intellectual Property Research and Advocacy, along with SIBM conducted an informative session for the students on Business and IPR on March 12th, 2020. Prof (Dr.) Anirban Mazumder, Professor, NUJS and Mr Naveen Kumar Anumula, practising Advocate and Registered Patent Attorney with Government of India delivered the lecture on various aspects of Business and IP, Commercialisation of IP and Start-Up and IP. The talk was informative and provided students with an insight into how business laws play an important role in the corporate world and the practicalities involved in intellectual property and corporate bodies.

   

   Poster for the event

   

   Prof. (Dr.) Anirban Mazumdar addressing the gathering

   

   Advocate Naveen Kumar addressing the gathering.

9. Capsule Course on Copyrights

   The Capsule Course explored the conceptual framework of Copyright and allied rights. It also provided a unique opportunity for attendees to interact with a professional in the field. It not only covered the theoretical aspects but also offered practical knowledge. The speaker for the course was Professor (Dr.) Anirban Mazumdar, a Professor at West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) and was also the Ex-Chair Professor of MHRD, IPR Chair at NUJS, Kolkata.

   

   Facilitation of Professor (Dr.) Anirban Mazumdar.

   

   Day 1 of the capsule course.

   

   Prof. Mazumdar interacting with the participants.

   

   Participants actively taking notes of the session.

10. Capsule Course on Geographical Indication and Traditional Knowledge

    The course essentially focused on giving the students a comprehensive idea about Geographical Indications and Traditional knowledge in India. The course aimed at brevity without a compromise of knowledge. Ms Gargi Chakrabarti was the speaker, an associate professor, Coordinator of Govt of India chair on IPR, Co-ordinator UGC GIAN Project, National Law University, Jodhpur. The capsule course spanned over two days, 10th and 11th August 2019, and was concluded with an examination which served the purpose of judging the knowledge acquired by the students during the course.

    

    Facilitation of the guest by our faculty-in-charge, Ms Dhanya K A

    

    Group photograph with the guest, faculty-in-charge, participants and team members

11. NecessiTea- Caffeinate your Confusion

    As law students, there are many things that bother and confuse our minds. Team CIPRA decided to conduct an event where students who felt lost and disoriented could meet up and get their doubts cleared. The session aimed to create an avenue for young students to gather and learn from each other’s experiences wherein the seniors mentored their juniors. Owing to the success of the first edition, NecessiTea 2.0 was organised on October 4, 2019

    

    Speaker 1, Atharva A. Singh addressing the participants.

    

    Participants attentively listening to the speakers.

    

    Speaker 2, Aamir Javed addressing the participants.

    

    Speaker 3, M. Ashaab interacting with the participants.

12. IP-Unveil

    IP-Unveil is the Flagship event of the CIPRA, conducted every year. The aim of the two-day event, organised on the 11th to 12th February 2019, was to spread awareness amongst the students in the rapidly emerging domain of intellectual property rights and to engage them in different activities to enhance their knowledge. Three events were organised to achieve the objective of the event. Broadly, the events organised were under the following heads:

    • AcademicIP– to engage students with the academic aspect of intellectual property rights a workshop on the Artificial Intelligence and IPR was organised. The guests for the same were Ms Ekta Bahl, Partner at Samvad Partners and Nischali Varanasi, Senior Associate at Samvad Partners. Following which a Trademark filing competition and VerBoss, a debate competition was organised.
    • iPeers– to enable students to engage in discussions with their peers concerning IPR and encourage peer to peer learning.
    • CreativeIP– to stimulate the creativity amongst students and to engage them in the creative domain of IPR, a unique competition named Triptych was organised in which an author, a painter and a photographer teamed up to create a product in the given time
    

    The lighting of the lamp by Ms Ekta Bahl, Partner at Samvad Partners, Nischali Varanasi, Senior Associate at Samvad Partners and faculty of SLSH.

    

    Trademark filing competition.

    

    Participant of triptych.

13. ACHIEVEMENTS

    GI Project-Balanagar Custard Apple

    Team CIPRA has worked with the Telangana government for a research projecton the geographical indication of the Balanagar Custard Apple. Therecommendable work of the team was appreciated by the Agriculture ProductionCommissioner & Principal Secretary toGovernment Agriculture & Co-operationDepartment, Government of Telangana.

    

    Team CIPRA meeting Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister of
    Telangana State, Shree. Kadiyam Srihari