Designers get IPR savvy:Indian Designers are Increasingly Getting Aggressive about Patents and Copyright

What was an IPR lawyer doing at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week ? A quick chat followed, and what Safir Anand said came as a revelation: He is, in some capacity or the other, involved with many Indian designers as the legal advisor, who, he says, "are now waking up quickly to the need to protect their work." The current market scenario demands that, he says. "It is now that they are seeing the numbers, the growth possible and the money involved. Today, if a consumer wants to buy a designer garment, they have the option of going for Prada, Armani or Gucci - something they did not have before. If today one of our designers wants to sell their business, they will get zero value, because nothing is protected," says Safir.