Today in this global competitive world, as the incessantly critical IP industry gains traction, there's been quite a development in the IP leadership roles too across industries. The industry now counts an increased number of women leaders too representing the field as some of the most talented and experienced legal practitioners in the space. Taking charge for critical legal developments, they have been remarkably impacting the various facets and disciplines of intellectual property­from patents to copyrights to trademarks, and Rajeshwari Hariharan, Founder of Rajeshwari & Associates is one of those accomplished leaders.

In an in-depth conversation with the Women Entrepreneur team, Rajeshwari speaks about her successful professional journey. She also throws light on the expertise that her firm holds. Here are excerpts from the interview.

Introduce us to Rajeshwari & Associates. What are the major features about your expertise as an IP lawyer that you want us to majorly highlight through this article?

We are a Law firm that specializes in field of patents, beginning with advising, search for patents in India and abroad, drafting, filing, prosecution, litigation, as well as all other aspects relating to patents. Our firm has a collective experience of 20 years. Well versed in knowledge about various industries, we serve as professionals that can give true and practical advice respective of the clients' concerns.

Our firm exudes a family atmosphere, where people bond with each other, help each other and avoid to pull in intra-office politics. We believe our competition is not with each other, our competition is with the world which we can win by giving best due assistance and advice to the clients.

I believe in this profession, one needs to be consistent. Not all cases are to be won because losing and winning are part of the game. When a client comes to us, we have a thorough interview with them and then we conduct ample advisory work as to how they should protect their inventions, their developments, strategize to launch the product, and more. Further, we have a team which does Trademark, Design & Patent filings, and then we also have a team, which does litigation. We try to avoid maximum possible errors and give the best advice to our clients. While litigation is the focus, IP litigation is something that we are passionately doing.

Take us through your educational and professional background. How did the journey lead you towards becoming an entrepreneur in the field of Intellectual Property law?

I have done B.Sc. in Biology, Physics & Chemistry; MSc. in Biotechnology, and also hold an LLB degree.

My entrepreneurial journey started with some cases that I was handling while working with a big Law firm. There I came across a case which many probed to be a losing game because of the lack of facts. I worked really hard along with my team members to win the case. I also argued on behalf of my client as he could not afford the Council fee. The result came positive, we won it and that's when I realized if I could do this for one, I can certainly do for the masses. So, that's how I decided to start my own firm and thus incepting it in 2009. Since then we have been experiencing steady growth.

“As technology is the new big thing in every industry, hence we also keep ourselves updated with the new technology trends, having integrated it in our system at the firm”

How has your professional growth journey been so far?

The growth journey has been quite nice, because in the beginning, when we started, it was a very small firm and now we've grown bigger. Earlier we had a fewer clients, and dealt with some of the pro bono matters, today subsequently, we've built a good clientele base. Also, over the years, because of the hard work that we did, we've expanded into several areas such as competition law, and more.

We do advisory on the intersection between intellectual property & competition law, we also advise on arbitration, we also do a lot of work on information technology, including Geographical indications, as well as Plant Protection. So we've grown into newer areas, and that is why our clients have been very happy with our services.

How do you keep yourself updated with all the changes & evolutions taking place in the IP industry?

The only way to keep yourself relevant and adept to the changing ways of the market is to first understand the new areas that are coming up in law and business. And secondly, as technology is the new big thing in every industry, hence we also keep ourselves updated with the new technology trends, having integrated it in our system. We have integrated a lot of technology into the firm. We also conduct practice sessions from time-to-time, where we keep discussing about the newer developments in case laws, not only specific to India, but even globally.

What roadmap have you set for yourself and your company in the near future? What advice will you give to other young women who aspire to foray into the field of IP law?

I think in the future, we will probably expand more into some of the newer areas like Information Technology, AI and more as that will surely help us shape our knowledge about technology in general. Also, competition law is another area where we are going to focus, and of course, intellectual property rights, arbitration are areas which we will keep focusing on.

Law and entrepreneurship are two different things, but if you have taken up Law, be really consistent about it and never give in to the depressing defeats. Believe in the law and you will reach where you want to eventually. 

Rajeshwari Hariharan, Founder, Rajeshwari & Associates

Having demonstrated knowledge of 27 years in Intellectual Property Law, she has been in the forefront of many IPR cases where she has argued several patent and trade secret litigation at the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts across India.