-Mr. Vikrant Rana, Managing Partner, S.S. Rana & Co.
1. Please share an overview of your company's journey and business landscape in India
Established in 1989, S.S. Rana & Co. is a Full- service law firm. It has been globally recognized for its outstanding legal and advisory services in diverse areas of law. Registered as an “advocate-on-record” with the Supreme Court of India equips the firm to represent clients’ right from the lower courts to the Supreme Court. The Founding Partners of the firm have an astounding experience of 55 years each, at the bar in India and abroad.
For the past three and a half decades, the firm has been facilitating its large and diverse set of clients in protecting and enforcing their legal rights and the firm’s long-standing relationship with many Fortune 500 companies on a range of contentious and non- contentious legal matters bears testimony to the same.
The firm’s corporate practice comprises of a dedicated team of lawyers who have expertise and in-depth knowledge in areas of corporate practises and advisory matters.
The Firm has been consistently recognized for its distinguished legal services by various International and national legal journals including World Trademark Review, Chambers and Partners, India Business Law Journal, Legal 500 Asia Pacific and many more.
The Firm’s 2600 plus global clients include several Fortune 500 corporations, multinationals, Indian companies, individuals, as well as grass root innovators. We work with clients across various industries such as aviation, automobile, bio medical, pharmaceutical, consumer goods, real estate, IT & Technology, e-commerce, heavy machinery, media and entertainment, sports and gaming, electronics & communication, mobile computing & IoT, hospitality, FMCG, luxury goods industry, education etc.
The firm has been assisting its clients for drafting, filing and prosecuting IP applications and assisting them in successfully securing their IP rights in India, the SAARC Region as well as globally.
Dispute Resolution Practices
With a combined litigation experience of more 100 years, we represent clients in all areas of dispute resolution. Registration of our firm as ‘Advocate-on-Record’ with the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India enables us to represent our clients from the District Courts to the Supreme Court of India.
Our firm’s Litigation Department comprises of a team of hard working and dedicated lawyers who are adept at handling a diversified spectrum of legal issues under the guidance and tutelage of our Senior Partners, including but not limited to the following subject matter:
- Civil, Criminal and administrative action for Intellectual Property, Corporate Commercial Matters and disputes before Courts all over India.
- Contractual Disputes and Arbitration matters
- Bankruptcy & Insolvency petitions
- Rectification of Company names;
- Banking & Insurance matters.
- Consumer Matters
- Legal Metrology Law (Packaging and Labelling);
- Labour Law and Service matters;
- Family Law, Immigration Laws and International Family Adoption;
- Real estate, construction & energy disputes
- Sports & Media Matters
- Arbitration and mediation
- Family Law matters
- Property matters
Corporate Law Practices
For close to three decades, we have been representing many Fortune 500 companies worldwide in matters related to Corporate Laws on following issues:
- Company Laws, Competition Law, Labour Laws including sexual harassment at workplace
- Consumer Laws, Food Laws, Legal Meteorology, Direct Selling
- Environment Laws
- Gaming & Sports Laws
- Real Estate Laws, Construction, Disputes, Insurance
- Mergers & Acquisition
- Commercial Contracts & Agreements, Technology Transfer & Joint Venture
- Telecommunication & Media Laws
- Information Technology Laws, E-commerce, Data Protection & Privacy, Intermediary Liability
- Energy & Infrastructure
- Finance & Banking Laws, Taxation, GST, Banking & Fintech, Crowd Funding, Securities
Certifications
Having embraced technological advancements, the Firm is one of few law firms in India to be awarded with ISO certificates i.e. ISO 9001:2015 (quality management system) and ISO 27001: 2013 (Information Security Management System). The Firm has been consistently recognized as a Great Place to Work and has also been adorned with this certification in 2023 as well.
The Firm has also been recognized as India's Best Workplaces for Women (Mid-size) 2023 by the Great Place to Work® Institute (India).
Thought Leadership
Research is and has always been the cornerstone of our Legal Practices and all members of the Firm are encouraged to volunteer and contribute to the Thought Leadership team. This Team discusses and deliberates on trending and emerging legal topics and publishes research papers and articles. Our research articles and newsletters provide critical insight into various legal topics and are readily available as a go to source of education for a larger audience through our website and other online platforms.
Members of the Firm are regularly invited as panelists & speakers by various educational institutions, government and private trade associations and organizations.
2. As a business leader, how do you see the emerging opportunities and potential growth areas for your company or sector in India?
Being a Managing Partner of SSRANA and heading the firm for many years now, I see that India at present is the brimming with development, potential growth, digital innovations and investment opportunities. The GDP is not the only factor that holds testament to this, the gradual surge witnessed in IPR filings in the past decade is an essential factor that contributes towards the growth of the economy.
A spurt in innovations and increased IPR awareness has led to increased IPR filings by Indian companies in the last few years. It is noteworthy to mention here that in 2022-23, domestic filing of patent applications was 52.29% of total patent filings and domestic trademark filings were 97.15% of total trademark filings, thereby exhibiting a phenomenal growth in IPR intensive companies in India.
Startups and the SIPP Scheme
India is also a home to the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world. There are 136,973[1] recognized start-ups in India. Start-up India, a flagship initiative of the Government of India, intends to catalyse startup culture and build a strong and inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in India. Under the Scheme, the Government has also formulated the SIPP Scheme that protects and promotes IPR of Startups and thus encourage innovation and creativity amongst them.
Aforesaid facts and figures reflect a progressive pattern of IPR filings in India and it showcases as to how Indian companies and brands are growing and becoming aware about the necessity of IPR protection. Similarly, foreign, and multinational companies are also investing in India and recognizing the growth opportunities offered by the nation. Brand owners have also entrusted trust in the Indian IPR laws and enforcement agencies for protection of their IPR.
In view of the aforesaid factors, as a business leader I foresee immense emerging opportunities and potential growth areas for my firm in the coming years.
3. Looking ahead, how do you see innovation and sustainable business practices shaping your company's growth strategy?
Innovation plays an instrumental role in shaping my Firm’s growth strategy. It is heartening to see that India’s ranking in the Global Innovation Index of 2023 is 40 among 132 nations and India in fact ranks no. 1 in the Lower Middle- Income Economy group.
Innovations can be protected and monetized through IPR laws in India and being an IPR law firm we have assisted and continue to assist numerous Fortune 500 companies, multinationals, grass root innovators and start-ups in protecting their innovations not only in India, but also in the SAARC region and globally.
Innovations and sustainable business practices leads to new ventures and establishment of new companies. Being a full service law firm we are in a position to professionally assist companies from the stages of incorporation to winding up.
Hence, the favourable landscape in India coupled with increased innovation will play an intrinsic role in shaping my Firm’s growth strategy.
4. With an increasing emphasis on CSR, how do you integrate your CSR goals with your business strategy?
CSR is an integral part of our Firm’s business strategy. Some of our CSR activities and activities are enumerated below.
Corporate Social Responsibility and Pro Bono
Based on the belief that there is more to our commercial professional work, S.S. Rana & Co. has a demonstrated record of pro bono representation. We at S.S. Rana & Co., are committed to providing a voice for the underprivileged and offer pro bono contributions that range from representing individuals who otherwise lack means to secure basic legal representation to assisting grassroot innovators in protecting and monetizing their IP creations.
IP Facilitator for Start-UpsI have been registered as an IP Facilitator with Indian Patent Office and has assisted several Start-ups for filing and prosecution of their IP rights. He has assisted more than 100 start-ups in securing their IP rights in India.
IP4Kids- A CSR initiative of SSRANA
In pursuance of the Firm’s consistent efforts to increase IPR awareness, the Firm commenced a platform for spreading IPR awareness among kids, namely IP4Kids - a CSR initiative of SSRANA. Through this platform we work towards the sensitization of young students about IP so that the young creators and innovators are more aware about their creations and protections across various avenues such as design, trademark, patent & copyright. The initiative also promotes creativity and innovation in young minds and conveys to them how to manage their rights over such works.
Through our IP4Kids platform, the Firm has also been actively participating in the Innovation Festival organized by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India at the National Science Centre, since the year 2016. During the Festival, IP4Kids installs a unique booth with the aim to impart the importance of protection of innovation to innovators and inventors from to the nation’s youth from all parts of the nation. Every year, the booth installed by IP4Kids attracts young minds to explore and learn about the substance of protection of their innovations. We also organize an IPR workshop during the festival for innovators and scientists.
IPR sensitization in colleges and universities
We have also signed MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding) with several colleges/ universities in India and in pursuance of the same we organize IPR seminars/ workshops with these universities to spread IPR awareness. I have also been appointed as the Professor of Practice by the Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University.
5. How has IFCCI and its business network added value to your operations in India?
The Firm has been associated with IFCCI since 2014 and the Firm truly values this association. The Firm in association with IFCCI has organized events which have been of immense value and offered excellent networking opportunities to the Firm. For instance, recently in March this year on the occasion of Women’s Day, the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Indo-German Chamber of Commerce in partnership with S.S. Rana & Co. organized Women’s Day Cocktail, wherein the Firm released its White Paper on “Gender Inclusivity at Workplace”. The White Paper, included a survey on gender inclusivity, SSRANA’s and IFCCI’s take on gender inclusivity as well as a note of safety at workplace.
In June 2023, the Firm had also collaborated with IFCCI to organize an IPR awareness workshop for French SMEs in India at the French Embassy. The workshop offered a wonderful opportunity for the Firm to indulge in fruitful interaction with French companies, wherein the companies shared the challenges faced by them in protecting IPRs and the Firm answered their queries. The Firm considers such workshops organized by IFCCI of prominence.
The Firm in all appreciates this collaboration and looks forward to the organization for more workshops and networking events in the near future.