Nawal Kishore Anand or NK Anand, the founding father of Anand and Anand breathed his last this morning.
NK Anand was one of the pioneers in the field of Intellectual Property Rights. Mr Anand was born in Chandni Chowk, Delhi. He completed his schooling in Lahore, followed by graduation from the prestigious Hindu College in Delhi University before enrolling for the three-year law programme from the Faculty of Law.
Subsequently, NK Anand joined his father in working for declaration of ownership of marks and their publication, thus laying the foundation of Anand and Anand.
After the Trade and Merchandise Act coming into force in the 1950s, NK Anand busied himself in the Trademark Registry work and brought in clients from across India.
Called to the Bar in 1956, it was in late 1950s that he saw, what he called a “turning point” in his career as he successfully represented what is now a leading Indian multinational conglomerate in a complex case setting precedent for each sale giving rise to cause of action. “With this”, he would say, “A young lawyer had arrived”.
NK Anand earned several awards and accolades for his unsurpassed contribution in the field of IPR including the lifetime achievement award by AIPPI (India Group) from Justice SM Krishnan in recognition of his position as the founding father of Indian Group of AIPPI (Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle or the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property), the world’s leading non-profit association dedicated to the development and improvement of laws for the protection of intellectual property.
He also served as the Vice-President of the Delhi High Court Bar Association from 1974-76 besides being a member of the International Bar Association, the Asian Patent Attorneys Association and the Patent and Trademark Bar Association of ASSOCHAM.
He also took to spreading IP awareness by authoring “Law Against Counterfeiting and Piracy” and “The Menace of Video Piracy”.
NK Anand was clearly a visionary who envisioned a strong IP regime in India decades ago.