The Grand Masters 2015 comes to you with a back to back summit series in New Delhi, Mumbai & Bangalore. The respective summit editions shall be focusing on certain pre identified set of topical issues and challenges that the In-House Counsel has been facing in order to ensure his role being implemented successfully. This comes to you post an in depth research by Lex Witness over a period of 2 months. Apart from a common set of topics we have also brought in an element of customized discussion as per the respective cities where the Grand Masters is being held. www.grandmasters.in

Kochhar & Co., one of India’s leading full service law firms, announced its foray into the UAE market with the opening of its Dubai office. With this development, Kochhar & Co becomes the first India law firm to be granted a license from the Dubai Legal Affairs Department (LAD) of the Ruler’s office to practice UAE law. The news also coincides with the firm’s 20th Anniversary celebrations. The new office in Dubai would be led by a team of 12 lawyers and has ambitious plans to rapidly scale its operations and footprint in the region. Offering a wide range of local UAE law, Kochhar & Co hopes to provide deep domain expertise and seamless services to the large Indian diaspora and it’s own MNC client base, who have a significant presence in the region. Commenting on this significant development, Mr. Rohit Kochhar, Chairman and Managing Partner of Kochhar & Co., said "With the new office in Dubai, we are excited to be part of the dynamic and thriving economy of the UAE and hope to make our own humble contribution in the diversification and expansion of Indian and Foreign businesses in the Middle East Region."

Intellectual Professionals LLPis pleased to organize the 'World IP Forum' which will be held on January 10-12, 2015 at Le Meridien, New Delhi – the capital of India. The theme for the conference is "International Challenges and Trends in Intellectual Property". This three-day conference will focus on recent developments in Intellectual Property. This conference will also provide ample opportunities for business networking with visionary entrepreneurs and industry experts around the world. Each one of our speakers is expert in their respective field with years of experience. Join us at this conference for your chance to hear these IP specialists, as they share with you the latest trends, insights and strategies for patent procurement, litigation, trademark issues and other topical IP issues. For more details, kindly contact Mr. NavinAgarwal at navin@ipllp.in Jeet Agarwal at jeet@ipllp.in.

The Division Bench of the Bombay High Court has, in the case of Rakesh S. Kathotia and Anr. v. Milton Global Ltd. and Ors., liberally and purposefully interpreting an arbitration agreement, has held that group entities (who are referred to in but are non-signatories to an agreement) will be bound by the terms of the arbitration agreement. The Hon’ble High Court thus reiterates that an arbitration agreement ought to be construed in a broad and common sense manner and that the arbitration agreement should be interpreted having regard to words and phraseology therein and no term / phrase should be treated as meaningless, especially if they are consistent with the other parts of the agreement.

(Source: Nishith Desai Associates)

In a landmark order today, the Honorable Supreme Court of India (Bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Rohinton Fali Nariman) has directed the Union Government to issue an executive order to protect good samaritans who help injured persons on the road, from legal and procedural hassles in the hands of police, hospitals and legal entities. The court was hearing a PIL filed by SaveLIFE Foundation in 2012. SaveLIFE Foundation had filed the Public Interest Litigation seeking guidelines to protect Good Samaritans who help road crash victims from harassment and intimidation at the hands of the legal and police system. Detailed recommendations in this regard were submitted by a court-appointed expert committee headed by the Additional Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, respondents in the case, submitted an affidavit today stating their agreement with the recommendations and have been asked to issue the recommendations as an executive order. According to a national study conducted by Save LIFE Foundation, 3 out of 4 people in India are unlikely to step forward to help a road crash victim. The fear of prolonged legal formalities, police harassment and detention at hospitals deter most bystanders from coming forward. Public support around the issue has been growing exponentially. An online petition directed at Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, demanding a "Good Samaritan Law" for India has been signed by over 40,000 people within two days of its launch. Popular TV show SatyamevJayate has also raised the demand for a Good Samaritan Law earlier this month.

A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court in the case of World Wresting Entertainment, Inc. v. M/s Reshma Collection & Ors. in an appeal order, held that the online sale of merchandise to customers in Delhi by World Wresting Entertainment, Inc amounted to ‘carrying on business’ in Delhi, under Section 62(2)2 of the Copyright Act, 1957 and Section 134(2)3 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. The DB held that the WWE carried on business’ in Delhi merely due to sales effected through the Appellant’s website accessed / accessible in Delhi, thus conferring jurisdiction on the Delhi High Court to try a suit for trademark and copyright infringement. Therefore, plaintiff’s having virtual but not physical presence may now institute a suit for copyright or trademark infringement. The Delhi High Court observed that the availability of goods through a website at a particular place is virtually the same thing as a seller having a physical shop in the same place.

(Source: Nishith Desai Associates)

The Reserve Bank of India, India’s central bank has granted additional compounding powers under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 ("FEMA"), to its regional offices across the country. Further, RBI has also re-aligned the jurisdiction of regional offices in respect of certain contraventions. This Decentralization is intended to bring efficiency to the compounding process and may reduce transaction costs for the applicants.

(Source: Nishith Desai Associates)

Last month, in a landmark ruling in the case of Vodafone India Services Private Limited, the Bombay High Court decided on whether a foreign company subscribing to shares of its Indian subsidiary create taxable income in the hands of the Indian subsidiary and whether transfer pricing regulations can be applied in such cases. The Hon’ble High Court ruled that share issuances are capital account transactions, and, as such, there is no transfer of shares or income created as a result. Further, notional deficiency of share premium cannot be brought to tax under transfer provisions.

(Source: Majmudar & Partners)

Mr Gary Born of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (WilmerHale) has been appointed President of the SIAC Court of Arbitration with effect from 1 April 2015. Mr Cavinder Bull, SC of Drew & Napier LLC and Mr John Savage of King & Spalding LLP will continue as the Vice-Presidents of the SIAC Court of Arbitration for another term.Five new members have been appointed to the SIAC Court of Arbitration. They are Ms Claudia Annacker of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Mr Lijun Cao of Zhong Lun Law Firm, Mr Toby Landau QC of Essex Court Chambers, Dr Eun Young Park of Kim & Chang (who is concurrently a member of SIAC’s Board of Directors) and Ms Lucy Reed of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. These appointments will also take effect from 1 April 2015.

Locke Lord is pleased to announce the approved combination with Edwards Wildman. This combination, which is effective January 10, 2015, will enable the combined firm to better serve clients’ needs by strengthening their position and product offerings in the middle market. It will also allow them to brand that identity in the global marketplace with a major presence in the Northeast and a stronger footprint in the Midwest, West Coast, and Southeast regions of the United States, as well as in Europe and Asia.

(Source: Nishith Desai Associates)

Recently, the Supreme Court of United Kingdom in FHR European Ventures LLP and others v. Cedar Capital Partners LLC, has opined on an interesting question of law, whether a bribe or secret commission received by an agent is held by that agent on trust for his principal, or whether the principal merely has a claim for equitable compensation in a sum equal to the value of the bribe or commission. Notably, if the bribe or commission is held on trust, the principal has a proprietary claim to it, or if the principal merely has a claim for equitable compensation, the claim is not proprietary. Therefore, the benefit acquired by an agent arising out of his fiduciary position, or pursuant to an opportunity which results from his fiduciary position, the general equitable rule is to treat the benefit as having acquired on behalf of his principal, therefore beneficially owned by the principal. Furthermore, an agent owes a duty of undivided loyalty to the principal, so principal is entitled to the entire benefit of the agent's acts in the course of his agency, including but not limited to benefits arising out of acceptance of bribe or secret commission.

(Source: Nishith Desai Associates)

Intellectual Professionals LLPis pleased to organize the 'World IP Forum' which will be held on September 15-17, 2015 at Bangkok – the capital of India. The theme for the conference is " IP as a commercial tool in Designing the Future". This three-day conference will focus on recent developments in Intellectual Property. This conference will also provide ample opportunities for business networking with visionary entrepreneurs and industry experts around the world. Each one of our speakers is expert in their respective field with years of experience. Join us at this conference for your chance to hear these IP specialists, as they share with you the latest trends, insights and strategies for patent procurement, litigation, trademark issues and other topical IP issues. For more details, kindly contact Mr. NavinAgarwal at navin@ipllp.in Jeet Agarwal at jeet@ipllp.in.

The Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) was launched on 5 November 2014 by the Honourable the Chief Justice of Singapore SundareshMenon and the Minister for Law Mr K Shanmugam SC. At the launch event and the Maxwell Mediation Seminar preceding the launch event, SIMC announced an Arbitration-Mediation-Arbitration (or Arb-Med-Arb) service that it is jointly offering with SIAC. Under the SIAC-SIMC Arb-Med-Arb service, a dispute may be referred to arbitration and then stayed while mediation is attempted. If parties are able to settle their dispute through mediation, their mediated settlement may be recorded as a consent award. A consent award is generally accepted as an arbitral award, and, subject to any local legislation and/or requirements, is generally enforceable in approximately 150 countries under the New York Convention. If parties are unable to settle their dispute through mediation, they may continue with the arbitration proceedings. In the interests of preserving confidentiality and impartiality, the arbitrator and mediator will be separately and independently appointed by SIAC and SIMC respectively, under the applicable arbitration rules and mediation rules of each Centre. Unless the parties otherwise agree, the arbitrator and the mediator will generally be different persons.