I keep seeing this question on LI. Understandable, because IP is one of the most interesting and exciting practice areas. But please understand that Delhi is not Palo Alto or Munich or Tokyo or even Shanghai. The level of innovation in India is very low and the cost of IP assets created in India are very low. The money lies only in protecting foreign IP assets. But even here, only a minuscule number of IP lawyers do cutting-edge work. Also, certain Lala firms have kept salaries low and even firms set up by NLSIU graduates have done the same: partly because these NLSIU grads have turned into Lalas themselves, partly because they need to compete with Lala firms and cannot justify higher fees to clients.

Thus, IP lawyers in India are very underpaid. The situation could change a bit if liberalisation takes place, but a sea change will happen only if India becomes an advanced economy like China has become. We are 50 years behind in that respect. Everyone hoped that Modi would undertake big bang reforms after 10 years of decay under the Congress, but he hasn’t done jack.