Leading Indian intellectual property law firm Anand and Anand has added former Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) judge Lakshmidevi Somanath as a partner in its litigation and strategy team.

Somanath joins after three years as a partner at Surana & Surana International Attorneys, prior to which she spent a year as a member judge of the IPAB. She was a part of several landmark decisions, including the declaration of GOODDAY as a well-known trademark and orders protecting prominent trademarks including of RPG, HP, and REDBULL.

In her 23-year career, Somanath has represented clients as an arguing counsel across IP disputes including crafting strategic IP legal advisory, conducting IP audits, coordinating IP valuations, overseeing the filing and prosecution of numerous applications before the Indian IP Offices, as well as international PCT and MADRID filings.

She also advises on corporate IP strategy, IP monetization, IP contracts and agreements, well-known marks and other non-contentious legal issues surrounding IP commercialisation.

With the addition of Somanath, Anand and Anand now has 33 partners.