There are no best solutions in the legal arena, only completely customer-centric optimal solutions. This is what Stuti Dhyani ardently believes in. As the Partner at Saikrishna & Associates, she has comprehensively learned this fine distinction. According to her, it is important to realize early on that the best solution may not be the most optimal solution for your client; hence, there is no ‘best’ “We need to understand our audience before any advice. With a decade of practice, I believe one naturally learns the pulse of the authorities one is dealing with and can offer the optimal advice most suited for one’s client.”
These are her legal expertise’s USPs that make her stand out as an influential lawyer in the industry, especially as a Partner; Stuti leads the ICT, Computer Science, and telecommunication vertical at the firm and looks after the end-to-end services, be it drafting, prosecution, or dispute resolution when it comes to Patent Law.
Protecting Your Intellectual Genius
Adding on the traits of an influential lawyer, she says that creativity is intrinsic, but with the right intention, it can also be cultivated. “I believe I have always put an amalgamation of my technical prowess, my love for words, and the ability to think beyond what exists on the table to offer the most optimal solution to the client.”
Another leg to this discussion is championing the cause of not just getting any claim or patent granted but getting an enforceable claim or patent granted. The arduous work of protecting your innovation doesn’t end with a granted claim or patent but begins with its enforceability. “With being neck-deep into SEP litigations, we are made aware of how crucial this fact is on quite a daily basis and realize how it is the crying need of the hour,” she feels.
Other than her primary domains stated earlier, Stuti has copiously contributed to creating awareness of the firm’s patent practice, attending various national and international conferences and seminars, and journaling important patent updates. Being deeply entrenched in the field and developing a pragmatic viewpoint in dealing with the court and patent office officers regularly has given her the vantage point to provide strategic advisories on patent law.
However, a Partner at Saikrishna is much more than someone who has made their mark in law and technology. Moving up in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, one is motivated by self-actualization. This self-actualization forms a fine nexus with adding value to society at large, leading to fulfilling your life purpose.
In the patent space, there are fine nuances between the monopoly of rights and the abuse of dominant position that one must understand. The differentiator between the two can often be conflated and blurred, and comprehending this can be very nebulous. As an ardent Indian patent professional, Stuti strives to galvanize awareness of the fine balance so that whilst the proprietor’s rights are not compromised, the commoner and the society generally don’t hang by a thread either. “This is both challenging and rewarding at the same time.”
Legally Techno Logical Journey
Saikrishna & Associates is a full-service law firm specializing in Intellectual Property, Telecommunication Media and Technology, Corporate Law, and Competition in Noida, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore in India. “Started by our Managing Partner, Mr Sairkrishna Rajagopal, in 2001, the firm has grown by leaps and bounds across verticals and locations,” informs Stuti, an IT engineer, a lawyer by education and a patent attorney/lawyer by profession.
Her inclination towards IPR, particularly patents, seemed a natural step after earning her Engineering degree because this step allowed her to combine her predilection for Technology, passion for words, and love of protecting the rights of researchers and scientists alike.
She started her career at Anand and Anand Advocates, Noida, in 2011. She was intensively involved in drafting and prosecuting patent applications and contentious matters- appeals, invalidations, and litigation representing some major software and telecom giants across the globe. After that, she joined Saikrishna & Associates, Noida, in 2019 as an Associate Partner.
At Sairkishna, Stuti has had the fortune of garnering extensive experience in involving herself at the end to end of the patent spectrum ranging from analytics, searches, drafting, standard essential patent evaluation, claim chart mapping, patent licensing, and monetization. She has also been involved in prosecution before the Patent office, in contentious matters before the erstwhile Appellate board and the current Intellectual Property Division (IPD) of the Delhi High Court (DHC), and in hard-core litigation, especially in Standard Essential Patents and FRAND before the Court of Law. Notably, she has prosecuted nearly 6000 patent applications on computer-related inventions and telecommunications with a whopping success rate.
She has also had the rare opportunity to be a resource person for Induction and Training for Judges of the High Court and District Courts in India’s IPR policy at the National Judicial Academy (NJA), Bhopal. Besides this, she has also delivered lectures at various universities, start-ups, research, and financial institutions to increase protection awareness in building patent-implemented inventions.
Her dabbling into various arenas of patents has given Stuti the latitude to perform in almost any capacity–from being a representative at the Indian Patent Office, the Intellectual Property Division, and the High Court for clients across the world.
Intrinsically Cultivated Intelligence
Despite having seen the legalese while growing up, it had little impact on Stuti’s decision to venture into the legal space. On the contrary, she resorted to a different route and pursued engineering in Information Technology. While she was able to secure offers from various IT companies in her pre-final year of engineering, she had an epiphany that she wasn’t so inclined towards application-based computer programming and probably would never be fully satisfied being a coder.
Stuti interned at Anand and Anand, Noida, as a part of her 5th-semester subject, and it dawned on her that she was much intrigued by the theoretical aspect of computer science and the ongoing research and innovation that is incrementing our lives. After her 8th semester, she reneged on her other IT offers and took up the job at Anand and Anand.
During her tenure at Anand and Anand, to further augment her skills, Stuti pursued law and ultimately passed the Bar in 2017. When she entered this field in 2011, this was still an upcoming arena in law, with not many people cognizant of this. The competition was sparse, and the opportunities were still exploratory. Stuti reflects, “However, I believe for a student of science and technology, with no formal education in law at first, it can take some time to wrap their heads around the law per se and its application to technology thereof. I must admit that there has been a sea change in awareness since then, with many patent agents and engineers/scientists who already come with combined degrees before starting their careers.”
That being said, she adds that techno-legal professionals must never lose sight of the fact that while technology advances at a galloping speed, the law needs to keep pace with it. “The law, especially if I were to talk about the Patent law, was enacted in 1970, and the Patent Rules have been constantly revised since 2016.” The law was enacted to offer protection to technology with an exclusion to a certain category of invention, keeping in mind the socio-economic structure of our country then. Following the 2005 Doha Declaration, India became a member of the TRIPS with a certain embargo on some kinds of inventions.
The Smartness Quotient
“We can all appreciate that the technology and the nature of inventions, both incremental and disruptive, have evolved significantly since then. The economy of India can also be re-evaluated to determine the relevance of the laws protecting our IPRs.” At any rate, the need of the hour is to ensure that the law protecting these IPRs is also dynamically fine-tuned so that they don’t become discrepant with the very technology they aim to protect. “While the Patent Rules’ slew of amendments since 2016 till now have brought much respite in addressing procedural deficiencies, we can hope for revised legislation such that the laws don’t become antiquated.”
Briefing about her specialized services, Stuti says at Saikrishna they are a diversified team of engineers, lawyers, and patent agents who run into multiple technical domains and are adept at Patents and Designs filing, Prosecution, litigation, prosecution and litigation advisory, Illustration Drawings, Patent drafting, Patentability searches, Invalidity searches, Freedom to operate searches, Risk Analysis, Competitive analytics. They also routinely assist in filing and prosecuting in other countries through their foreign associates. They cater to automotive, computer science, telecommunication, electronics, chemistry-pharma, life sciences, agriculture, and material sciences, to name a few.
They are deeply entrenched in Standard Essential Patent (SEP) and FRAND litigation and various Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms, such as mediation and negotiations.
The Dynamic Aspect
While sharing her opinion on tech advancement in the law field, Stuti says that technology has played a vital role in the legal industry. It has increased the efficiency of legal offices and the productivity of clerical workers. It has also improved accuracy and ensured greater transparency within and outside the firms. “The advent of technology is most welcoming when it helps the world and our legal ecosystem go green.”
With cloud migration, the need to maintain physical files has been eliminated. This change is not just evident in law firms but also in some courts too. It has enabled people to work remotely when needed and has far-reaching effects in ensuring job satisfaction.
However, with the advent of AI-based applications, such as chatgpt, technological advancement has reached a new height. There are speculations that it could dilute the need for lawyers, but however good technological progress may be, it cannot replace a human mind with the creativity one desire.
The Law Full Wisdom Way Ahead
In her advice to the budding legal professionals aspiring to step into the legal field today, Stuti thinks that young professionals need no advice; they are extremely hardworking, industrious, and diligent and are equipped with anything at their command. “But if I can offer my two cents, it is that before anyone else, stay true to yourself. I believe that is where we falter because misleading oneself can cause much-unwarranted agony. It is easy to get overwhelmed by what is prevalent, so if we can appreciate our strengths and embrace our weaknesses, we can make great strides in this industry.”
Focus on finding a true mentor. Having a mentor to help you wade through the waters even when you think you may know everything is a boon in today’s day and age. There are many unexplored areas where one can find their niche. It is akin to developing a taste or distaste for a subject, depending on how good your teacher at school was!
And lastly, know why you are doing what you are doing. “At times, when I conduct interviews, I realize there is little to no focal point to the discussion with professionals when they are asked to comment on the ‘why’ behind something,” she adds.
Regarding the current and future scenarios, Stuti believes that the Indian legal industry is a work in progress, as is any legal sector of any other country. “The Indian Jurisprudence, and I can speak for patent jurisprudence, has developed substantially in the last five years like some much-lauded decisions by the Delhi High Court on the formation of the Confidentiality Club, the Anti- Anti Suit Injunction, claim amendments and divisional applications, but we still have a long way ahead,” she concludes.
