Thursday, 26 May 2016

The Scope of Corporate Law as a Career Option

Corporate Law Firms in Delhi
It is integral for every individual to have a career goal and have a profession in his/her life. More than often Lawyers are thought of being the lesser fortunate as people assume all they have is a dingy office in the corner of the courtroom and have nothing better to attend to than simply debate over issues. Far from reality, the law profession has undergone a 360 degrees change and has transformed from the myths it was once coupled with. Corporate Law in particular is offering such avenues that many are switching towards the profession entirely.

Corporate Law usually refers to the interaction between employees, directors, shareholders, vendors, creditors, customers and many more. It focuses on interactions made in the corporate community and largely a part of huge corporate companies and is closely related to commercial law and contracts. It ideally deals with operations and smooth running of an organisation. A corporate lawyer usually is appointed by companies and corporate houses where he/she will have to represent every entity pertaining to joint ventures, associations, sole proprietorships, partnerships and corporations. An individual who might be driven towards problem solving especially when it concerns business and its dealings will enjoy being a corporate lawyer and take it up as a full time profession.

A corporate lawyer’s work involves providing valuable advice to numerous issues that are related to the company and he/she needs to be extremely knowledgeable on the accounts of bankruptcy, tax laws, security laws, intellectual property rights, contracts and more.

·        Securities Law: Securities law is an extremely intricate area that almost always requires the services of a specialist. Lawyers who acquire this specialty are involved with the formation, organization, and financing of corporations through securities such as stock, as well as mergers, acquisitions, and corporate takeovers.

·  Intellectual Property law: This involves knowledge of and application of laws governing copyrights, patents, trademarks and trade secrets. Intellectual Property law focuses on protecting the rights of inventors, authors, and businesses to their tangible and intangible creations, inventions and symbols.  Legal professionals in this field are often experts in a particular domain, such as science, the arts, or an industry.

·  Real Estate Law: Real Estate law involves land or construction ownership, development, litigation, tenant rights, or landlord disputes. Attorneys in this field may work on residential or commercial transactions, review contracts, or work in planning and other government offices.

·  Competition Law: Competition law is a law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. Competition lawyers work on ad-hoc queries advising clients on trading and compliance matters. Lawyers who work in this area of practice also defend companies accused of price fixing in secret cartels.

·  Bankruptcy Law: Bankruptcy lawyers help you file for bankruptcy to help you get out of debt.  There are different subsets of bankruptcy lawyers who represent the debtor (the person or company filing for bankruptcy) and the creditor (the ones who are owed money by the debtor and are trying to recover as much of their money as possible during the bankruptcy).  There are also lawyers who specialize in different types of bankruptcy.

·  Merger and Acquisition Law: A merger or acquisition is a combination of two companies where one corporation is completely absorbed by another corporation. The less important company loses its identity and becomes part of the more important corporation, which retains its identity. Federal and state laws regulate mergers and acquisitions.

·  Tax Laws: Tax law is a dynamic field that deals with domestic and international transactions. It is an area of specialist study. It covers the rules, policies and laws that oversee the tax process, which involves charges on estates, transactions, property, income, licenses and more by the government. Tax law specialists are often employed in consultative roles, and may also be involved in litigation. 

Ideally an educational qualification is not the only requirement for a corporate lawyer, he/she needs to acquire certain skills that will not only benefit for a case or two but lifelong. And interning with a well established law firm will be fruitful as learning the skills and tricks of the trade at an initial stage from superiors and experienced mentors are a step higher on the ladder to success. 


Best Law Firms in Delhi. Maheshwariandco.com is one of the Leading Law Firms in New Delhi, India. We provide corporate, immigration, IT, Real Estate, Family, Divorce Legal advice etc. Please visit: www.maheshwariandco.com

Monday, 16 May 2016

The Need for Intellectual Property Rights in the Start-Ups Domain

Intellectual Property Rights

A lot of research, creativity and time go into coming up with a new product or service, its logo or tagline and even a company name to begin a business. Much hype is emerging in the start-up zone about Intellectual Property Rights and why is it so essential. Start-ups lack knowledge and usually tend to overlook the importance of Intellectual Property Rights until it is too late. Some Intellectual Property Rights if not registered at the right time can become a huge loss to a business enterprise and the chance to get them registered would be lost forever. Start-ups need to be educated on the importance of Intellectual Property Rights and how it could become a business asset for them.

First of all, let us enlighten you with what Intellectual Property (IP) Rights mean and what are its most common types.

IP refers to the endless creative ideas and invention a mind comes up with, it can be any work of art, a name, a logo, a symbol, literal work, lyrics to a song or even its tune. Any form of creative work or invention that one truly owns and gets registered  in his/her name is part of Intellectual Property Right and the creator is bound to benefit out of the registered matter or idea if someone else wants to use it. Every country has laws to protect Intellectual Property and have country specific or even international acceptance to the registered article or idea. For a start-up it is essential to know what the types of IP are.


Types of Intellectual Property:

What Does It Mean:

Time Span:

Copyrights

The exclusive and assignable legal right, given to the originator for a fixed number of years, to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material.

One gets a 50 year protection worldwide over the lifetime of the creator.

Patents

A government authority or licence conferring a right or title for a set period, especially the sole right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention.

One gets a 20 year protection in the country of filing.

Trademarks

A symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product.

One gets 10 years of protection in the country of filing and can renew it every 10 years.


Designs

A plan or drawing produced to show the look and function or workings of a building, garment, or other object before it is made.
One gets 10 years of protection in the country of filing and can renew it every 5 years.


Intellectual Property Rights are beneficial in many ways and a start-ups ought to know the importance of these rights while launching their work.

·         These rights act as a protection from those who want to replicate the product or logo of a company and profit out of someone else’s invention or idea.
·         It secures the business or company name by legitimatising each product and a consumer benefits as well if he buys the product from a certified or authenticated dealership only. For example if a buyer buys a replicated phone from an uncertified source simply because it looks like an iPhone, he cannot go to the consumer court if it gets spoilt.
·         It is a boon as per an investor’s point of view as well and a business would have more leverage if their rights are properly registered.

Whoever said, Precaution is better than Cure, had not known how apt it would sound one day for the IP Rights domain. However knowing the benefits of IP are not enough for start-ups these days, they also need to know what they should avoid since a small mistake might end up costing them millions.

1.     Do not wait long to register your invention, name, logo or idea. Like every perishable item, an idea or a creation too has a shelf life especially when you may be looking at marketing a website or product into the e-commerce world.

2.     Do not believe that IP is irrelevant and not useful, for example if your product or invention clicks to the world and becomes famous then marking a patent will be tough and probably even impossible to register.

3.     Do not try becoming ‘Jack of all trades, it is best that you contact an experienced lawyer who deals in IP law, who guides you with right information about IP rights and also registers them for you.

Each and every business needs to understand the importance of Intellectual Property rights and the protection it provides. The main goal of any business venture who believes in making a success out of whatever they strive to do or invent will definitely understand the significance of Intellectual Property rights and will find the need to ensure that it has a secure future in today’s world.


Maheshwari and Co. is amongst theleading IP law firms in Delhi and India. We deal in Patents, Trade Marks, Copyrights, Designs and Trade Secrets and various other area of IPR law.

Friday, 13 May 2016

What are the Essential Guidelines for a Patent Disclosure in India

patent registration in India

Most patent law firms emphasize on getting work of art that you do believe has market value and a potential to seek success patented as soon as possible. Why they believe in registering a patent for your creative work is because ideas and products can easily be misused or replicated and after it has been done you cannot take a legal action against the ones who have stolen the idea or design. To lessen the risk and have a safer growth in your respective industry in India, one should look at the procedure of registering a patent in India.  Here are few tips that a leading patent law firm in India suggests you keep in mind while drafting a disclosure:
Do a market research and analyse your product or idea. A patent process is expensive for an individual who is doing it single-handedly, so he/she needs to be certain of the market viability of the product or service that needs the patent. After all the research that one conducts and still feels the need to get the invention patented then the individual needs to prepare the disclosure document.
The document will include certain facts about the invention:
  • The industry where the invention is meant to start base
  • A brief description about the invention which will include merits that may also include the problems the invention can solve in future.
  • You do need to mention if your invention or product already has an existing competitor.
  • A few words on why your product or invention is different from the others.
  • Few points about the various features of the invention is also required.
Make sure that a public patent disclosure that is similar to your invention is not in process already as that will jeopardize yours since a patent application that has already been displayed at a public event or published cannot be filed by another party. The Patent Law provides a grace period to the application filed for about 12 months from the date of its publication or any public appearance made at an exhibit.