Yashvardhan Rana is an Intellectual Property Lawyer with a particular focus on IP prosecution. He is a part of the Trademarks, Copyright and Design Prosecution team at Inttl Advocare, Noida, India. He is based out of New Delhi and is a member of Bar Council of Delhi, Delhi High Court Bar Association, APAA, and INTA. In January 2020 he was appointed as a Member of INTA sub-committee – The Trade Mark Reporter Committee. He has also authored several articles on Intellectual Property Law and Practice which are published in leading blogs, websites, journals, and magazines.
Q. You have been listed as one of the Top 50 Emerging IP Professionals in the world. How were you shortlisted and recognized for this?
A. I had filled out an online nomination form along with submitting documents evidencing my achievements and contributions to the IP landscape in India. Based on my answers, the jury conducted a rigorous background check and rated us on the basis of five parameters namely – Overall Reach, Industry Impact, Spirit of Innovation, Future Readiness, and Market Demand. After careful consideration of the submitted nomination form and extensive research, the awards committee rated me with a high aggregate score including me in the final Top 50 list of awardees in the world out of 350-400 nominees in the world. Being felicitated alongside stalwarts and young budding professionals belonging to big firms and companies from the Intellectual Property law industry and allied fields such as Al Tamimi & Co., Clyde & Co., Reliance Industries, Micro Labs Ltd., Marks & Clerk, Spoor & Fisher, and Infosys; was phenomenal.
Q. Listed as a Notable Alumni of the Centre for Commercial Law Studies Alumni Outreach Network initiative at Queen Mary University London, how would you describe your experience?
A. To study at CCLS was an exhilarating experience as it broadened my horizons to a next level altogether after meeting a lot of people from diverse backgrounds and countries. It also gave me a deep insight into the workings of different legal regimes in different jurisdictions. I have, and shall always maintain unconditionally, that my year as an LL.M. student at CCLS, QMUL was one of the very best years of my life. It gave me a lot more than just a degree. I had arrived to join a year-long course and but earned added qualifications with incredible enlightenment, priceless personal growth, lifelong friends and long lasting memories. Intellectually, it endlessly challenged me to simultaneously learn and unlearn, and amplified my personal growth to help birth a broader view and perception I wouldn’t hitherto have considered myself capable of. CCLS comprises of an edifying journey with a stellar reputation for producing the best minds in the world of Intellectual Property Law and other allied areas. It did not come as much of a surprise that the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London fits that criteria, and, in one of the more surreal twists in my life, I decide to take the plunge and thus, applied for further studies.
Q. How and why did you choose IPR as your area of specialisation?
A. The world of well-known brands and fancy logos have always fascinated me since my childhood as I’ve seen my father patronising various well-known brands from multifarious departmental stores from every nook and corner all over the world on our summer vacations. This routine was followed on every vacation that he took us to and I accidentally got immersed and it had further captivated me to dwell into the world of brands like never before. On another note, I also used to read up his case files of high stake matters pertaining to Trademark Law in our house chamber during my college holidays. Since I also had an inclination to become a lawyer from my boyhood days and Intellectual Property Law was and has been booming in India, I chose IPR as my specialisation and further wanted to create a niche for myself in this ever-intriguing field of law.
I chose to pursue an LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law from Queen Mary as the IP modules they offered catered to my needs and were being taught by the most renowned IP professors in the world back then. We also had joint classes for our Trade Mark Law module being taught by renowned professors and practicing lawyers along with the students from UCL, LSE and Kings at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Lincoln Inn Fields (belongs to QMUL) all under one roof.
Q. You have pursued a number of Certificate Courses and Diplomas from various recognized institutions and organisations. Do you feel certificate courses contribute to one’s career with respect to his/her placement?
A. It definitely contributes to one’s career! I would like to quote here that “It takes a distressing incident for us to step back and retrospect. Until then, we relish being one among the herd.” It feels comforting having someone resonate your outlook. It was this moment when I realized the importance of having an all-round approach when it comes to learning. These additional certificate courses per se did not directly cater to my growth as an IP lawyer; however, it invoked a sense of understanding the law in its complete sense. Understanding the tenets of Business Law, Research Methodology, and concepts of IPR played a key role in shaping me as a lawyer and what better way to supplement my knowledge in IP and have an added advantage over my peers.
Q. What advise would you like to give students interested in pursuing an LL.M.?
A. Applying to an LL.M. in UK, US, or elsewhere, requires some amount of dedication to craft and in connecting the dots and commitment to a task involving patience, and persistence. The most centroidal part is just to start early (by early I mean – at the very beginning) in the admission cycle – get the referees to send in their recommendation letters (from a notable professor, judge or your college principal – would go a long way). Subsequently, it is about writing a solid statement of purpose which is not filled with jargon or superfluous terms but which outlays a sense of your actual experience/journey and how it would impact you as a human being or how would you give it back to the society once you earn that degree. I think the SOP requires painting a vision about your future and how well you are aware of how to tread the path of endless opportunities without blinking your eye. Also, writing an SOP requires demonstration of a certain skill set, aptitude, and coherence to be able to delineate and sell what you envision for in about 2-3 pages. Its like pitching your idea about your startup or business venture in front of the sharks from Shark Tank so that they invest in your idea and vision.
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