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Do you want to be an intellectual property lawyer? Then read on.

Can you tell us if we should register the copyright for the next course we create or will that be redundant?

Can you advise an entrepreneur on what strategy he should follow if he wants to patent his next innovation?

Can you successfully handle challenges to an existing trademark that your client owns?

You will have to be able to do these things if you want to practice as an intellectual property lawyer. Many young lawyers wish to practice as an IP lawyer, and apply for those jobs, but often do not have the requisite skills. You cannot expect to learn everything on the job. In a very competitive job market, the more you know about the work even before you send your CV out, higher is the chance of you actually landing that position.

If your answer to any of the questions that I started this article with is no or a rather uncomfortable silence, then you definitely need to acquire some practical knowledge about intellectual property laws. The textbook knowledge that helped you to clear the law schools exams is really not enough in the professional world. Some law schools are scrambling to update what they teach in IP laws, but it is mostly inadequate so far. You better make your own arrangement to learn to be good at IP laws if you really want to practice IP laws.

Just stop and think for a second. If you are an inventor and have spent years coming up with your new invention and the first IP attorney that comes your way isn't even aware of whether he needs to file a trademark or a patent for your invention or both or none, and how much time it make take and what may be the ballpark budget needed for the entire exercise, will you run the other way or continue to seek his advice? If that is the case, why will a law firm that has lots of applicants waiting hire someone who doesn't have practical knowledge of IP laws? In that case, instead of giving you a job they might offer you a long, unpaid internship so that you can learn more practical skills before they can consider you for a job. You will not like that, will you?

How relevant is Intellectual Property Law in today's world of business?

Intellectual properties have made enormous contribution to the domestic as well as the global economy as a whole. This has established a need for all intellectual properties to be protected and enforced to ensure that consumers purchase only the safest and original products. Strict enforcement of IP law also makes sure that companies and enterprises can safely continue their businesses as their intellectual assets and investments are monetized owing to a series of copyrights, trademarks and patents.

Intellectual property laws are supposed to play the role of catalyst to encourage inventors and innovators to come up with new and unique ideas across industries and be rewarded for their innovations.

Are you a law student with dreams of specialising in IP?

A cursory search on google will show you the sheer number of specialised IP law firms in India. They handle client requests regarding copyrights, patents, designs and trademarks and all commercial and contractual supplements that go along with them.

As mentioned above, IP is a massively growing area of work. The importance is growing as media and technology becomes two major engines of the modern economy. These days, more and more lawyers are getting involved in filing patents, registering trademarks and such. However, remember that earlier one could get by with less knowledge as IP law practice was heavy on the registration and filing side. However, with more automation and companies like vakilsearch and Indiafilings doing this work at incredibly cheap prices (INR 2000 per mark per class) most lawyers do not find this remunerative at all. Most of the lucrative work in the IP law industry now centers around IP contracts such as assignment/licensing deals and IP related litigation. IP litigation is really the future of IP law practice, and those who have the right skills and experience will become some of the best paid lawyers in the country.

Career Prospects

IP professionals who are well versed in legal, technological and scientific concepts have better prospects in this field than vanilla lawyers. Some of the sectors that employ specialist IP lawyers include government agencies, law firms, corporate houses and R&D units of manufacturing industries like:

  • Pharmaceutical Industry
  • Personal and Professional Grooming
  • Design Departments
  • Voluntary Organisations
  • Publishing Houses
  • Media Units
  • Software and hardware industries
  • White goods industry

Certificate Course in Intellectual Property Law

There is a real dearth of smart, dedicated young lawyers who have a deep understanding of intellectual property laws. Keeping this in mind, iPleaders has introduced an online certificate course in Intellectual Property Laws.

The online certificate course on intellectual property law has been carefully curated by IP veterans such as Apar Gupta,  Mathews VC, Nagaraja Subbarao, Anupam Pandey, Abhyuday Agarwal and Amartya Bag. The team credited with creating this course has complete expertise over the subject as a result of their cumulative experience of over 90 years. The course has been specifically constructed to blend the best practical and theoretical concepts in the field of intellectual property laws.

It is a 3 month self paced course designed for lawyers and other working professionals looking to gain a deeper understanding of IP rights in India. It is certified by iPleaders, the knowledge and technological partner of National University of Judicial Sciences.

Syllabus

The course is regularly updated by experienced faculty in accordance with the changes and amendments made to IP law in the country. It offers a detailed overview of Intellectual Property law and offers key insights regarding the impact of IP on businesses which can be very beneficial for any commercial lawyer. It also substantially covers copyrights, trademarks, patents as well as technological transfers. All of this is divided into seven carefully constructed modules as described below.

  • MODULE #1 Introduction to Intellectual property law
  • MODULE #2 Copyright Law
  • MODULE #3 Trademark Law
  • MODULE #4 Patent Law
  • MODULE #5 Geographical Indications, Trade Secrets and Designs
  • MODULE #6 Technology transfer- A primer
  • MODULE #7 Employees and Intellectual Property

Please follow this link to receive free sample from the course on intellectual property law.


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