Vaishali Mittal is a litigation partner and strategist at Anand and Anand. Vaishali has been engaged as a lead in many firsts and also some of the most ground-breaking IP matters including India’s first Anti-AntiSuit injunction, India’s first final judgment on Standard Essential Patents interpretation of Section 8 of the Patents Act to the benefit of patent-holders; first compulsory licensing order for radio broadcasters under Copyright Act; India’s first judgment declaring colour combination (green & yellow) a well-known trademark; landmark judgement on trans-border reputation, landmark judgment on aggravated damages being the highest ever quantum in a copyright, trademark and design infringement case, to name a few. She is better known as “leading light” in India for Standard Essential Patents, an epithet given by IAM 300.

PRACTICE FOCUS

Vaishali focuses on litigation and dispute resolution. She has over 19 years of experience in litigation, prosecution, drafting and advisory work to various Fortune 500 companies and other leading organizations worldwide on disputes concerning patent, trademarks, copyright infringement and passing off, etc. She frequently appears before the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Delhi where she handles some of the most hotly contested matters to protect the patents of global pharma majors and the mark of leading businesses. Given her court craft and innovative strategies, a leading publication once described her as the “engine of Anand and Anand’s patent practice, an outstanding advocate and deal negotiator”. Another celebrated publication recently ranked her amongst noteworthy IP litigators while identifying her as “a rising star in the litigation space especially noted for her expertise in SEPs”.

Vaishali has been consistently recognised as a leader in intellectual property by some of the most prestigious bench-marking tables. She has been complimented by her clients that “Her strategies reflect global insight and commercially well-informed approach”. Outside courts, Vaishali combines her knowledge and ingenuity in penning article for renowned publications like GTDT, Asia IP, MIP etc.

REPRESENTATIVE LEGAL MATTERS

The following is a partial listing of some of the path-breaking matters handled by Ms Mittal.

InterDigital Corp & Ors v Xiaomi Corp & Ors – India’s first Anti-Anti Suit injunction
Multi-year, Multi-technology Patent Cross-license Agreement between Nokia and Lenovo, and settlement of all pending patent litigation worldwide.
Renaissance Hotel Holdings Inc v B Vijaya Sai & Ors:- first decision from the Supreme Court of India clearly distinguising between section 29 (2) and section 29 (4) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999.
Lysosomal Storage Disorders Support Society (LSDSS) vs State of Karnataka – represented the petitioner pro bono and secured free medical aid for children braving rare genetic disorders after several years of legal battle with the State and the Centre.
Represented Koninklijke Philips N.V. before the Delhi High Court in two heavily contested patent battles namely: Philips v. KK Bansal; Philips v. Rakesh Bansal, securing India’s first final judgment on the issue of Standard Essential Patents.
Represented Nokia in various pre-suit mediation claims concerning infringement of Standard Essential Patents before the Delhi High Court.
Represented Koninklijke Philips N.V. before the Delhi High Court in two landmark heavily contested design and infringement of trademark lawsuits namely: Philips v. Amazestore & Ors. and Philips v. Amitkumar Kantilal Jain & Ors, securing a landmark judgment on the highest ever quantum of damages in a copyright, trademark and design infringement case in India.
Represented Astrazeneca AB before the Delhi High Court against leading pharmaceutical companies Emcure Pharmaceuticals Limited and MSN Laboratories Limited in a highly contested patent infringement lawsuit, securing an ad interim injunction in favor of Astrazeneca.
Represented Toyota Motor Corporation, before the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India, in Toyota v. Deepak Mangal, India’s landmark judgment on the issue of trans-border reputation.
Represented John Deere in Deere & Co. & Anr. v. Mr. Malkit Singh & Ors.; India’s first judgment recognizing a color combination of green and yellow as a trademark.
Represented John Deere in Deere & Co. v. S. Harcharan Singh & Ors.; India’s first judgment declaring a color-combination as a well-known trademark.
Represented Koninklijke Philips N.V. in Maj. Sukesh Behl v. Philips; securing a landmark judgment providing much-needed relief to patent holders from strict liability under the disclosure regime of section 8 of the Patents Act, 1970.
Represented Sanofi S.A., a pharmaceutical company in Sanofi v. Kirti B. Maheshwari before the Delhi High Court, which saw the first instance of judicial recognition that “trade-secret” disputes could be considered as “commercial disputes” under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. This is despite there being no statutory recognition of trade secrets as intellectual property in India.
Represented Vifor Pharma International (Galenica Group), a pharmaceutical company in Vifor v. High Court of Delhi in a writ petition before the Delhi High Court resulting in, to the relief of scores of intellectual property owners, a stay of the transfer of at least 20,000 intellectual property lawsuits (valued under INR 1 crore) from the High Court to subordinate district courts, in the aftermath of the promulgation of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015.
Represented BIC Cello Limited, before the Delhi High Court in a pre-suit mediation namely: BIC Cello v. Flair Pens Limited, settling a high stake claim between the companies concerning design infringement and trade dress passing off.
Represented Music Broadcast Limited, formerly known as Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd in India’s first compulsory licensing complaint & secured the first twenty licenses in its favour.
Secured declarations of Well-Known status of several trademarks as per section 2 (1) (zg) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, including; Mitsubishi; Pulse, JIO, Honeywell; Microsoft; WWE, Rajnigandha etc.
Appointed as a Mediator by the Delhi High Court to facilitate an amicable settlement of complex copyright and design dispute.
Led the Intellectual Property arm of the team representing Embibe (Individual Learning Private Limited), an Artificial Intelligence-based start-up pioneering in the education industry, in its acquisition by one of the world’s biggest companies, Reliance Industries, in a multimillion-dollar deal in India.
Assisted the Sports Development Authority of India in the development of a “Sports Code” for India with a writ petition seeking its implementation presently pending before the Delhi High Court;
Legal advisor, assisting and spearheading various transactions with leading companies securing protection for their Intellectual Property and other legal compliances in India on issues such as Advertisement-Media campaigns, regulation requirements for electric products imports, imports of milk and other health hygiene products for infants etc.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Vaishali is also the creative mind behind ‘IPONOMICS’, a picturesque coffee table book co-authored by her compiling legendary IP matters; ‘Origami’, an in-house knowledge manual on Best Practices and Procedures of IP practice in India, for law firms and companies. She also conceptualized and created ‘IP Thinker’ a digital newspaper to celebrate World IP Day, 2020. Outside of courts, Vaishali combines her knowledge and ingenuity of a writer in authoring various chapters and articles in renowned publications like GTDT, Asia IP, MIP etc. Some of her recent works are:

AI’s right to legal identity in India– Asia Business Law Journal
Delhi High Court breaks ground with AASI order – India Business Law Journal
Kluwer Patent Blog – Implementors must be given access to FRAND agreements: Delhi High Court, Part 1
Kluwer Patent Blog – Implementors must be given access to FRAND agreements: Delhi High Court, Part 2
Necessity of India’s Confidentiality Clubs – India Business Law Journal
Impact of COVID19 on IP Proceedings in India – Managing IP
Kluwer Patent Blog – One more blow to those misinterpreting the Enercon decision of the Supreme Court – infringement lies despite a pending post-grant
The interplay between Indian design and trademark law: Peaceful in 2D, complicated in 3D? – Asia IP
Sandboxing for Personal Data Protection: India aims to foster innovation– Asia IP
A novel injunction pushing India’s IP frontier – Expert Guides

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS

Member of AIPPI
Member of APAA
Member of INTA
Bar Council of India
Delhi High Court Bar Association

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Always ready to give back to the society, Vaishali represented pro bono the Lysosmal Storage Disorders Support Society (LSDSS) in a writ petition which, after five years of legal tussle, resulted in the Karnataka High Court directing the State and the Centre to forthwith to provide Rs 6 cr for free medical treatment of 45 children suffering from life-threatening rare disorders. The order’s ripple effect manifested itself in Madras HC coming to the aid of patients with life-threatening rare diseases. Setting this is a precedent, several other High courts have now passed similar orders.

In another matter, which is the first civil suit to be filed during the Lockdown, the cost paid by the defendant went towards the treatment of a COVID-19 patient.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

Recognitions at firm level:

Nokia and Lenovo Multi-year, Multi-technology Patent Cross-license Agreement – IBLJ Deal of the Year 2021
InterDigital vs Xiaomi – IBLJ Deal of the Year 2020
Koninklijke Philips Electronics Vs. Rajesh Bansal – “Impact Case of the Year” at MIP Asia Awards 2019; “Milestone Case of the Year” at Legal Era Awards, 2019;

Individual Recognitions

WIPR Leader 2022 – Patent and Trademark
Benchmark Litigation Asia Pacific Litigation Star 2022
Leading Individual – Legal 500 Asia Pacific Rankings
IBLJ A list lawyer 2021-22
Ranked in IP Litigation department of Chambers and Partners Asia Pacific Guide 2022
Ranked amongst Top IP Litigators in India 2021 by Thomson Reuters Asian Legal Business
Amongst Top 10 Women in IP – ASSOCHAM IP Excellence Awards 2021
Managing IP IP Star 2021
WIPR Diversity Women in IP 2021
Amongst ‘Top Individual Lawyers’ for ‘IP’ and ‘Pharma & Life Sciences’ -Forbes Legal Powerlist 2020
‘Leading Individual’ – Legal 500 Asia Pacific Rankings. Recognised as “leading name in patented technology litigation, specifically regarding SEPs in the telecoms sector.”
World’s Leading Strategists – IAM 300 Global Leaders
World’s Leading Patent Professionals IAM 1000 & IAM 300 (2021)
IP Expert – AsiaIP – 2022
Women in Business Law – Expert Guides – 2020
Super 50 Lawyers in India – Asian Legal Business – 2020
Top 15 Dispute Lawyers in India – Asian Legal Business – 2020
World’s Leading Strategists – IAM 300 Global Leaders – 2020
World’s Leading Patent Professionals IAM 1000 & IAM 300 – 2022
Best Trademark Lawyer – Euromoney’s Women in Business Law – 2020
Recognized amongst the “Top 15 Dispute Lawyers in India” across all verticals by Asian Business Law Journal in 2019;
Recognized amongst the “Star Women in Law” Awards at the Legal Era-Woman in Law Awards 2019
Recommended lawyer by Expert guides-patents 2019
Winner of “40 under 40 – Rising Star award” at the Legal Era Awards, 2017

BAR ADMISSION AND EDUCATION

L.L.B (Gold-medalist) from Jamia Milia Islamia University, Delhi (2000-2003);
Bachelor of Arts (History), Delhi University (1997-2000)

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