Partner
Manish Biala
Manish is the go-to lawyer for an effective IP enforcement, which includes practice at even the remotest entry points. His is a considerable contribution in robust enforcement at the customs.
Manish Biala is a litigation partner at Anand and Anand and is the first IP lawyer to press for customs registration of marks and building an impressive customs practice. His sustained efforts at expanding the reach of customs enforcement had him travelling the length and breadth of India covering almost all 29 States and 7 Union Territories conducting hundreds of pro bono workshops on IPR awareness for enforcement agencies and stakeholders. Such endeavors on his part have been recognized and acknowledged frequently by the Government of India.
Before joining Anand and Anand, Manish was an independent legal practitioner aligned with criminal law bar practice for almost four years. His skill at conducting cross-examination remains unmatched.
After tasting the ground realities of criminal practice, Manish ventured into the field of IP. He was attracted by the opportunities the field of custom practice had to offer as he labored to develop it from scratch. Manish was the first IP lawyer to press for custom registration of marks and efficient enforcement and other lawyers and IP firms followed suit. His efforts bore fruit with the Custom Rules coming into force in year 2007.
- 40 under 40 Rising Star 2019- Legal Era
- Manish’s work has been highly appreciated by the Government of India.
Speaking of Manish, the Ministry of Finance expressed its gratitude for successfully organising 50 IPR enforcement workshops for police officials covering 26 states and Union Territories across India.
“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to you for your invaluable contribution and painstaking efforts as a resource person in the conduct of these IPR Enforcement Workshops. But for this unflinching support, we could never have hoped to touch this milestone. May I also especially acknowledge the pro-bono services rendered by you,” said a senior government official for Manish.
Manish has conducted several civil and criminal raids on behalf of reputed global brands throughout India. He regularly appears for contentious matters before various high courts throughout the Indian jurisdiction and his skills at conducting cross-examination remain unmatched, even finding special mention from the high courts in various judgements.
Few brands that he regularly represents before Indian customs are Richemont Group (Montblanc, Cartier, Vacheron Constantine, Piaget, IWC, Panerai, Alfred Dunhill, Chloe), LVMH group (Dior, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Kenzo and others), PVH Group (Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger) Hermes, Chanel, Apple, L’Oréal, Christian Louboutin, Azzaro, Mugler, Calvin Klein, Playboy.
Manish has filed and successfully obtained registration of several trademarks of various luxury brands with customs. He also provides opinions to luxury brands on online counterfeiting. Manish is actively working with the Indian customs across various ports and due to his extensive training, coordination, and sensitization activities, the firm has reached remotest of ports and uncommon enforcement agencies and enforced the rights of our clients.
He has set the record for participating in over 150 customs cases in a matter of just one year on behalf of several luxury brands, covering various customs ports in India and obtaining massive seizure of thousands of units of counterfeit products. He also convinced the customs to impose hefty penalties on not just the counterfeiters but also the Custom House Agents (CHA) facilitating the importation of counterfeit products.
Manish continues to work tirelessly to develop this practice area to ensure efficient IP protection.
Most notable amongst many of his public engagements include:
- Collaborating with the government of India to train custom officials about their role and powers in protecting IP
- Conducting Workshops on Enforcement of Intellectual property Rights” at National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN)
- Conducting custom training at all major ports and all major police academies in India
- Organizing training session for various big-ticket international luxury brands