IP Center to collaborate on joint project with leading Indian law university

11/03/2020

The University of Akron (UA) has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) in India on behalf of the School of Law’s Center for Intellectual Property Law and Technology. The two institutions are working to establish a joint U.S.-India intellectual property project to be known as Gujarat-Akron IPR Network, or GAIN. GNLU is located in Gandhinagar, the capital of the state of Gujarat, on the west coast of India.

Two men standing holding an award in a library

Gujarat National Law University Director Dr. Sanjeevi Shanthakumar and Akron Law IP Center Director Mark Schultz mark the signing of a memorandum of understanding on a joint intellectual project at the Indian university earlier this year.

“GNLU is one of the leading law schools in India, so they will be a great partner,” said UA IP Center Director Mark Schultz, the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Chair in Intellectual Property Law. “We’ve already started on several joint research projects, and we have plans for three joint events next year. India’s economy is growing and the country has become more serious about its IP system. Dr. Sanjeevi Shanthakumar, the director of the university, wants to make GNLU the premier IP law school in the country.”

“This is a very exciting relationship that would not have happened without Mark’s presence,” Akron Law Dean Christopher J. (C.J.) Peters said. “Mark has done a lot of policy work in India, side by side with some Indian law professors and a top Indian-American IP lawyer. A lot of big American corporations are very interested in the prospects for IP policy changes in India.”


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