Law Firm Articles
LiveLaw Editorial Guidelines For Article Submissions
LiveLaw publishes original, timely legal article that offers clear value to practitioners, academics, students and litigants. Owing to the volume of submissions, articles are assessed against the following editorial standards.I. Submission Categoriesa) General ArticlesLegal developments, legislation, policy and other areas of law.b) Law Firm ArticlesContributions by law firm partners, associates, general counsel and other legal professionals.c) Law School ArticlesContributions by law...
“Compensation Or Punishment? When Bad Faith Becomes A Multiplier”
On 30 March 2026, the Delhi High Court, awarded compensation worth approximately ₹152 crore to a Canadian patent holder against a German antenna manufacturer, in what has now become the largest contested damages award in a non-standard essential patent (non-SEP) case in the history of Indian jurisprudence. In awarding such exemplary damages, the Court has upheld the legal validity of the suit Patent No. 240893 (the “IN'893”) on each and every ground of challenge, has established a case for...
When The Courts Strip Your Armour: The IP Defeats Behind AP × Swatch Royal Pop
Queues snaked around Swatch boutiques from New York's SoHo to London's Covent Garden on May 16, 2026. The object of desire? The "Royal Pop," a bio-ceramic pocket watch carrying the unmistakable octagonal face of Audemars Piguet's legendary Royal Oak, retailing at a fraction of the five-figure price of the original Royal Oak.What's interesting to note is that behind the fanfare lies an extraordinary sequence of intellectual property defeats, strategic repositioning, and ultimately, an unlikely...
Section 9 Of The Arbitration Act: Interim Relief Before, During And After Arbitration
Arbitration is intended to reduce court intervention. Yet commercial disputes do not always wait for the arbitral process to become functional. A bank guarantee may be invoked overnight. Machinery may be removed from site. Goods may be shifted. Receivables may be diverted. Assets may be alienated. A party may even succeed, only to find that recovery has become difficult.Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 answers this problem. It is court support for arbitration. It does not...
LiveLaw Editorial Guidelines For Article Submissions
LiveLaw publishes original, timely legal article that offers clear value to practitioners, academics, students and litigants. Owing to the volume of submissions, articles are assessed against the following editorial standards.I. Submission Categoriesa) General ArticlesLegal developments, legislation, policy and other areas of law.b) Law Firm ArticlesContributions by law firm partners, associates, general counsel and other legal professionals.c) Law School ArticlesContributions by law...
EPF Scheme, 2026: The Ceiling Was Always ₹15,000 -So What Has Actually Changed, and What Should HR Do Now?
Much of the reporting on the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme, 2026, notified on June 29, 2026 under the Code on Social Security, 2020, has led with the proposition that provident fund contributions above ₹1,800 per month are “now” voluntary. Any practitioner will pause at that. The statutory wage ceiling of ₹15,000 and the voluntariness of contributions above it were always the law. Under the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 1952, an employee drawing wages above the ceiling could be enrolled...
Substance Over Form: How The Delhi And Madras High Courts Are Rewriting The Rules For Global Patent Applicants In India
Patent disputes often appear technical, but recent judgments from the Delhi and Madras High Courts show why they matter beyond patent specialists. A patent is a time limited legal monopoly granted for an invention. Before it is granted, the Indian Patent Office examines whether the invention is new, inventive, properly described and not excluded under the Patents Act, 1970. If the Controller of Patents refuses the application, the applicant may challenge that refusal before the High Court.This...
Commercial Dispute Resolution: Corporate Lawyers' Evolving Role In Repositioning First Forums
Trade and commerce are as old as civilization itself, and so are the conflicts that accompany them. For most of history, commercial disputes were settled around tables through negotiation, trust, and mutual dependence. As trade expanded and transactions grew more complex, informal dialogue-based resolution gave way to state-regulated adjudication. Globalization and legal formalization gradually replaced trust with enforceable rights, and persuasion yielded to procedure, with courts providing...
How Regulatory Compliance Shapes Company Formation Strategies In India
Launching a business in India involves far more than selecting a name, obtaining incorporation certificates, or opening a corporate bank account. For many entrepreneurs, incorporation appears to be the beginning of commercial activity. In reality, incorporation marks entry into a continuing regulatory framework governed by corporate laws, taxation statutes, labour regulations, sector specific requirements, and disclosure obligations.Regulatory compliance often influences company formation...
Future-Ready Or Constrained? TRAI's Role In Digital India
India's telecom regulatory framework has evolved through a deliberate institutional design that sought to separate policy formulation from regulatory oversight. This approach, rooted in both judicial recognition and global best practices, led to the establishment of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India as an independent statutory body tasked with ensuring fair competition, consumer protection, and orderly sectoral growth.Against this institutional background, the importance of regulatory...
Water Tax On Electricity Generation In A Hydropower Project: Uttarakhand High Court Holds Levy Unconstitutional
In T.H.D.C. India Limited vs. State of Uttarakhand & Ors., 2023: UHC: 12252, High Court of Uttarakhand (High Court), by a majority of 2:1, struck down the Uttarakhand Water Tax on Electricity Generation Act, 2012 (Water Tax Act), holding it unconstitutional. The issue was referred to a third judge as differing views were expressed by a Division Bench on the power of the State Government to levy tax on electricity generation in hydropower projects.The Water Tax Act was enacted by the...
Balancing Urgency And Liberty: Constitutional Scrutiny Of India's Emerging Blueprint For Regulating AI-Generated Content
As New Delhi embraced the cascading effects of the India-AI Summit 2026 and the new amendment of 10.02.2026 to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021[1] (“2026 Amendment”)[2] in the same month, its ripple effect will be seen in balancing the rights to digital privacy with commercial objectives. With the recent influx of petitions to safeguard the personality rights of celebrities against commercial exploitation through AI-generated...