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1. Is there enough scope in IPR?
2. What is the job scenario of IPR in T1 firms? Are there enough vacancies?
3. Shoud I switch to a different area of law like Gen Corp to get placed?
4. I am not getting internships in T1 firms. What should I do about it?
5. Lastly, I have been seeing lot of students taking up IPR. Is it something I should worry about?
Please help a junior out.
Given the recent technological developments, yes IPR has a lot of scope. Having said that, the number of firms dealing in IPR is far less as compared to corporate law firms. So, it's a win-lose situation I would say.
2. What is the job scenario of IPR in T1 firms? Are there enough vacancies?
See, getting placed in a tier 1 law firm (like Anand and Anand/ Remfry and Sagar/ K&S Partners) solely dealing in IPR may be difficult because the competition is more and attrition is less. However, if you're willing to start from a tier 2 (like LKS/ K&S Partners etc) and then make a jump, it won't be that thought.
3. Should I switch to a different area of law like Gen Corp to get placed?
No, you shouldn't. It's better to pursue what you love and are passionate about given the work-life balance in law firms.
4. I am not getting internships in T1 firms. What should I do about it?
I feel that write as many articles as you can and participate in some IPR related moots. If you show your genuine interest, no one can stop you from landing up in a T1 firm. And, not getting T1 internships is not the end of your career. Many haven't done any T1 internships but still landed up doing a job there and doing very well. I think you should utilise your time learning about the subject rather than thinking about T1 internships.
5. Lastly, I have been seeing a lot of students taking up IPR. Is it something I should worry about?
Then you should also worry about most students opting corporate law after law. Competition is everywhere. Do what you're really passionate about.
Rest is your call!!
3 - no
5 - no
1) Good grades and T1 interns (through contacts and RPC) - They generally get the best offers.
2) Good Grades, but not so good interns. They will get placed but not in their preferred practice areas.
3) Not so good grades, but good interns (t1/t2). If they get a PPO, it'll be in their preferred areas, if not then they'll also probably not get their prefered practice areas.
This constitutes around 60-75% of a T1 NLU batch. Now some of these guys don't sit for placements, as they have other plans or don't see themselves working in a firm.
Lastly, around 25-35% of a T1 NLU batch is not placed. Some of these guys never planned to get placed, some couldn't. But, yes being from a T1 does lower the entry barrier, this is to be attributed to the "jo dikhta hai woh bikta hai" narrative in commercial spheres; thus, as long as you have good grades and have a cv to show that you can work, you'll get recruited, only the quality of over will differ based on efforts. However, this doesn't mean that they'll last in firms, many do leave in 6-12 months, and if you look at the recruited to retained ratio after 3 years, around 6-7/every 10 would have left, either to take a break or pursue other endeavours.
Separately, while bsc is sufficient for writing the paving agent exam, having interacted with BSC llb integrated lawyers, I do not find them to have sufficient understanding of science. May be the BSC llb needs to be more rigorous in its bsc courses.
Iit kgp law school alumni have a very solid technical base - many of them also hols ms degrees from foreign universities or have significant research experience or technical work experience. It's such a pleasure working with them.
PS- I m not an iit kgp law school alumni but I regularly recruit from there.
On a separate note, if you are actually a student of RGSOIPL and asking this question, something is terribly wrong with the school these days. When I was a student, I had very easy access to all the alumni. Plus there was a T&P database maintained in the T&P room on the first floor of the law school. It had details of placement statistics.
In-house needs IP lawyers for other IP domains too apart from patents. So, what about hiring for trademark or copyright domain?
1. A good science degree - which ensures that they have the ability to grasp complex scientific jargon and can easily get the information out from the R&D team
2. Technical work experience - for e.g. we have few patent counsels who worked in IT firms before studying law.
3. Research experience - some of the students worked in actual labs as JRFs/SRFs before starting their law degree. They have good publications as well.
4. Good practical command over patents law and regulations - from what I understand, these kids undergo 3 semesters of patent law courses.
5. Maturity and understanding of office culture - most of these students graduate from law school at the age of 26/27. They are serious about work which is very difficult to find in 22 year olds.
I am still a student therefore correct me if I am wrong, won't working for 1-2 years enough to understand the science aspect of patent pertaining to patent litigation?
For e.g., it is extremely difficult to find a patent attorney with chemical engineer degree in the patent team of TVS.
IPR means Intellectual Property Rights. If you want to get into rights then create IP... You will get a right.
If you want to get into the law then it's getting into the practice of IP LAW.
WHEN WILL PEOPLE GET IT...
Flabbergasted IP Lawyer.
So IP practice will never go out of recession. You will always have food on your table and a decent enough life.
Plus, IP field is very dynamic. It's the same bunch of laws, which needs to be re-applied to evolving scenarios.
Pay is lesser compared to general corp. But if you can combine general corp + IP, then you are gonna be a monster, but only in an in-house role, since law firms are too compartmentalized to let you do that.
I have also similar question.
If someone is interested in IP and wishes to be IP lawyer so what are there chances of getting recruited at T-1 firms such as SAM, Indus law and also Khaitan which has a decent IPR practice?
One more avenue for IPR lawyers after a good 5-7 years (at least) at the law firm is brand protection teams or IP teams with midsize / big FMCG cos. There is a lot going on in this space. Get an internship if you can to see what it is like to work their and get some idea about comp as well.
2. TM registrations and filings are dry. Litigation is where there is moolah. But exclusive IP litigation is hard to make a name in with stalwarts already in place. So a general legal practice with IP cases is the way forward.
The above is for non-science students and those aiming for a career involving IP excluding patents.
2. Low attrition, but equally low demand. A lot of IP work can very frankly be taken up by someone who knows basic data entry and can replicate submissions, you do not need a law degree or for that matter even a deep understanding of IP. The pool of resources and cases is small, and India's IP practice is not nearly sophisticated enough for it to require you to use your brains
3. If your only concern is getting placed, it would not be hard. But you would be paid a lot lower, the work does not get more interesting, and the scope for you pay scale to increase doesn't increase much either. Think of this in the long term, not just for the short term. IP litigation might hold another story, but even in that a lot of recent cases seem to revolving around IP issues that have largely solid foundations and clear answers.
4. Start elsewhere, the work you do in IP will largely be the same everywhere. And unfortunately so is the pay, most tier 1 firms do not pay their IP teams at par with others. The only difference that you would face, is maybe the quality but even that would be marginally so. Start at a boutique firm, build your connects and then branch out.
5. No. Theoretical ipr is increadibly different from practical. Most students after a single ipr internship usually end up deciding that this is not the thing for them.