Hari Subramaniam elected first Indian President of Asian Patent Attorneys Association
He will take over in October 2023 in the 74th committee gathering
Hari Subramaniam elected first Indian President of Asian Patent Attorneys Association
He will take over in October 2023 in the 74th committee gathering
In the 73rd council meeting of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA) held in Busan, South Korea, Hari Subramaniam was elected as the President elect.
It was significant, as Subramaniam, a top-tier patent attorney, and twice President of the India Group became the first-ever Indian President of the international forum.
The meeting which took place after a hiatus of three years was attended by 1370 members from 22 recognized groups of Asia and observers from 65 countries outside Asia.
Subramaniam won the election against Pablo Gancayco of the Philippines, with 78 percent votes in his favor, the largest in the history of APAA.
The venue for the council meetings and general assemblies is chosen after a scrutinized bid process. India hosted its first council meeting in 2005 and the general assembly in 2018. These were presided over by then Chief Justice YK Sabharwal and Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu, respectively, under the leadership of one of the top corporate and IP lawyers Jyoti Sagar and Subramaniam.
APAA was founded in 1969 by Japan, Korea and Taiwan. In 1994, India was inducted as the 14th recognized group due to the efforts of Pravin Anand, a leading IPR lawyer.
The first President of APAA (Indian Group) was senior advocate KTS Tulsi (1994-1999) followed by Pravin Anand (1999-2003), Jyoti Sagar (2003-2006), Amarjit Singh (2006-2010), Hari Subramaniam (2010-2013 and 2016-2020), Justice Prathiba Singh (2013-2016), and Sudeep Chatterjee (2020-ongoing), a partner at Singh & Singh.
APAA India Chapter is the largest IP organization in the country, having IPR lawyers as its members. With 381 active members, it is the third-largest recognized group in Asia after Japan (630) and Korea (400). With its first International President from India, the India Group is expected to regain its second position before the next council meeting.