LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law and Cyber Law 

at NIMS School of Law, Jaipur

No, you cannot become a lawyer without a Law degree. You mandatorily need to obtain degrees such as BA/BCom/BSc/BBA LLB or LLB in order to be a lawyer in India. To become a lawyer, one must first complete three-year or five-year LLB from a recognised university and possess degree certificate. Then, they must enrol themselves in local Bar Council of the concerned state and enrolled as an advocate. Within two years of the enrolment, they must appear and clear AIBE in order to be eligible to practise anywhere in India. 

Both the AP LAWCET and CLAT entrance exam are conducted for admission to the Law schools in India, however, the syllabus for these exams are different on many parameters and candidates should strategise differently for both the exams. AP LAWCET exam has sections including Current Affairs, Legal Aptitude, Contract Law, Constitution, etc. and the CLAT entrance exam sections include English Language, Legal Aptitude, Mathematics, etc. AP LAWCET does not have mathematics subjects, AP LAWCET exam focus more on regional knowledge. CLAT generally covers the deeper aspects of the particular subject. 

One of the most popular job profiles after completing a course in Intellectual Property Law is to become a lawyer in the same field. Some other job profiles include:

• Patent Officer
• Copyright Officer
• Registrar for Patents and Copyrights
• IPR Lawyer
• Legal Associate
• IPR Consultant

Hi, For practicing as an IPR lawyer, first of all, you need to have a law degree and a license from the Bar Council thereupon. A specialization in IPR is advisable so that you could handle better. Also under IPR, there are fields as to patents trademarks, Geographical Indications, etc. You need to start practicing for atleast one to become an IPR expert and thereupon you might get clients having IPR issues.

Some popular areas where Intellectual Property Laws are applicable are Copyright, Patents, Trademarks, Industrial Design Rights, Plant Variety Rights, Trade Dress, Trade Secrets etc. Laws related to Intellectual Property control who can use creations such as new products, artistic works as well as designs. The reason why intellectual property laws were formulated was to allow individuals who create/ invent things to genuinely profit from their creations/ work.

IPR professionals should have both soft and technical skills including:

Soft Skills

1. Good understanding of laws and their implications
2. Excellent negotiation skills
3. Good at keeping an eye on competitor's strategy
4. Good at relationship-building with clients, media, press, and PR agents
5. Decision-making skills
6. Analytical skills
7. Precise attention to detail
8. Ability to perform a lot of research and draw conclusions
9. Experience in conducting due diligence
10. Research skills

Technical Skills:

1. Experience in legal and technical writing
2. Detailed knowledge of IP protection laws
3. Knowledge of drafting patent applications
4. Expertise in using tools like Questel similar patent search tools, Questel inventor portal, Orbit prior art search tool, etc.
5. Experience in the maintenance and generation of research & technical reports
6. Ability to draft assignment's licensing and agreements
7. Skilled in creating valuation of intellectual property
8. Knowledge and experience in handling infringement and misappropriation cases
9. Basic knowledge of taxation and accounting esp. the ones related to IP
10. Expertise in maximizing royalty amounts
11. Requisite knowledge of handling pre-grant and post-grant opposition 
12. Ability to safeguard client's business by obtaining legal injunctions
13. Knowledge of international laws and systems
14. Good knowledge of mortgaging and pledging
15. Portfolio management skills