Intellectual property law (IP Law) in India has undergone a quiet but consequential transformation over the last decade. What was once a niche practice area — relevant primarily to multinational pharmaceutical companies defending drug patents and technology companies protecting software copyrights — has evolved into one of the most strategically critical areas of legal practice in the country. The reasons for this shift are not difficult to understand.
India’s startup ecosystem has produced thousands of companies that need trademark registrations, patent filings, and trade secret protections from their earliest days. The country’s pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors are navigating some of the most complex patent disputes in global healthcare. The creative economy — covering film, music, publishing, gaming, and digital content — is generating significant copyright litigation. And India’s deepening integration with global trade means that cross-border IP enforcement, customs recordation, and international treaty compliance have become routine concerns for businesses of every size.
The law firms that have risen to meet this expanded and more complex demand are not simply those that file the most patent applications. The best IP firms in India in 2026 combine deep technical expertise across the spectrum of IP disciplines — patents, trademarks, copyrights, designs, trade secrets, and geographical indications — with the litigation capability to defend rights in the Indian courts and the international reach to manage IP portfolios that span multiple jurisdictions simultaneously. This article profiles the ten firms that best embody that combination, all of whom are actively practising, financially stable, and recognised by clients and peers as leaders in the field.
1. S. Majumdar & Co.
S. Majumdar & Co. is one of India’s oldest and most respected intellectual property law firms, with roots going back to 1943 and a practice that has been exclusively focused on IP for its entire history. Headquartered in Kolkata with offices in Delhi and Mumbai, the firm has built a reputation over eight decades that is particularly strong in patent prosecution — the process of drafting, filing, and arguing patent applications through to grant — across a remarkably wide range of technical disciplines including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, mechanical engineering, electronics, and biotechnology.
The firm’s attorneys include both lawyers and scientific professionals with advanced degrees, which gives it the technical depth to understand and articulate inventions in ways that strengthen patent claims rather than merely transcribing what an inventor has described.
S. Majumdar’s trademark practice is equally well regarded, covering clearance searches, application prosecution, opposition proceedings, and enforcement. The firm handles a significant international portfolio on behalf of both Indian and multinational clients, and its familiarity with the India-specific nuances of trademark examination practice — including the approach of the Trade Marks Registry to descriptiveness objections, well-known mark status, and multi-class applications — is a genuine asset that newer entrants to the field cannot quickly replicate.
Practice strengths: Patent prosecution across multiple technical fields, trademark portfolio management, IP enforcement, and international client representation.
2. Anand and Anand
Anand and Anand is widely regarded as one of the premier IP boutique firms in Asia, not just India, and its reputation in both domestic and international legal circles reflects decades of exceptional work across every dimension of intellectual property practice. Founded in 1923 and headquartered in Noida with offices in Delhi, the firm has a client list that includes some of the world’s largest multinational corporations alongside significant Indian businesses, and its handling of high-value IP disputes before the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India has built a litigation reputation that is difficult to overstate.
What distinguishes Anand and Anand from many of its competitors is the sheer breadth of its practice — it is simultaneously a leading patent prosecution firm, a leading trademark and copyright practice, one of the most active anti-counterfeiting and enforcement teams in India, and a regular participant in the most consequential pharmaceutical patent disputes in the country. The firm’s work in pharmaceutical patent litigation — where it has acted on both the innovator and the generic side of landmark cases — gives it an understanding of India’s unique intersection of patent law and public health policy that is relevant to any client navigating the complex landscape of drug patent enforcement in India.
Practice strengths: Full-spectrum IP practice with exceptional litigation depth, pharmaceutical patent expertise, anti-counterfeiting, and copyright advisory.
3. K&S Partners
K&S Partners is a specialist intellectual property firm that has built one of the most technically sophisticated patent prosecution practices in India, with particular depth in the life sciences sector — covering pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, agrochemicals, and medical devices. The firm’s attorney team includes professionals with advanced scientific qualifications in chemistry, biology, engineering, and computer science, and this scientific literacy is central to the quality of the patent drafting and prosecution work that the firm produces. Patent claims that are scientifically well-grounded and carefully scoped — not too narrow to be commercially useless, not too broad to survive examination — are the foundation of a valuable patent portfolio, and K&S Partners has built its reputation on consistently producing that quality of work.
The firm also has a strong trademark and copyright practice and handles a significant volume of IP litigation work before the Indian courts and the Intellectual Property Appellate Board. Its international reach — it regularly works with leading IP firms across the US, Europe, Japan, and China to manage global patent families for clients — gives it familiarity with multi-jurisdictional IP strategy that clients with globally competitive technologies genuinely require.
Practice strengths: Technically sophisticated patent prosecution in life sciences and technology, trademark and copyright, IP litigation, and international portfolio coordination.
4. Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan
Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan occupies a distinctive position in this conversation because it is not purely an IP boutique but rather a full-service law firm in which intellectual property practice is one of the strongest and most recognised departments. This full-service context is actually a meaningful advantage for many clients, because IP legal challenges rarely arise in isolation — a technology company dealing with a patent infringement claim may also need tax advice, corporate structuring counsel, and regulatory compliance support simultaneously. L&S’s ability to coordinate across these practice areas under one roof reduces the complexity and coordination cost that clients otherwise bear when managing multiple specialist advisors.
The firm’s IP practice covers patents, trademarks, copyrights, designs, geographical indications, trade secrets, and data protection, and it has been particularly active in the technology sector — advising software companies, semiconductor firms, and consumer electronics businesses on both portfolio development and enforcement strategy. Its litigation team has represented clients in significant IP disputes before the Delhi High Court, the Bombay High Court, and the Madras High Court, and its familiarity with the procedural and substantive landscape of IP litigation in each of these jurisdictions is a genuine resource for clients whose disputes may span multiple forums.
Practice strengths: Full-service IP integrated with corporate, tax, and regulatory advisory; technology sector expertise; and strong multi-court IP litigation capability.
5. Remfry & Sagar
Remfry & Sagar is one of India’s oldest intellectual property firms, with a history tracing back to 1827 — making it not merely one of the oldest IP firms in India but one of the oldest in Asia. This extraordinary institutional longevity is not merely a marketing distinction; it represents the accumulation of institutional knowledge, client relationship depth, and procedural expertise that takes generations to develop. The firm is headquartered in Gurugram and has developed particular strength in patent prosecution for international clients — multinational corporations and large technology companies that need their Indian patent applications handled by attorneys who understand both the technical substance of the inventions and the procedural specifics of the Indian Patent Office.
Remfry & Sagar’s trademark practice is equally well established, and the firm handles a substantial volume of trademark prosecution, opposition, and enforcement work for clients across consumer goods, technology, and life sciences. Its standing in the international IP community — reflected in consistent recognition by global legal directories including Managing IP, World Trademark Review, and IAM Patent 1000 — has made it a trusted Indian counterpart for the world’s leading IP firms seeking a reliable local partner for their clients’ Indian portfolios.
Practice strengths: Patent prosecution for international technology and industrial clients, trademark portfolio management, opposition proceedings, and international law firm partnerships.
6. Saikrishna & Associates
Saikrishna & Associates has built a reputation that is particularly strong in two areas that have become increasingly important in India’s IP landscape: IP litigation and the legal challenges specific to the digital and creative economy. The firm’s litigation practice — led by advocates who have argued significant cases before the Delhi High Court and other forums — is one of the most active in India across trademark, copyright, and patent disputes, and its willingness to take on complex, high-stakes litigation matters distinguishes it from firms whose practice is primarily transactional and prosecutorial.
The firm’s digital IP practice is particularly worth highlighting in 2026. It has handled prominent matters involving online content piracy, domain name disputes under the UDRP and IN domain dispute resolution framework, social media platform liability, and the IP implications of artificial intelligence — areas that are generating significant new legal complexity as India’s digital economy matures. The firm also advises on entertainment industry IP — covering film, music, publishing, and gaming — where copyright ownership, licensing structures, and enforcement against digital piracy are among the most commercially significant legal issues its clients face.
Practice strengths: IP litigation, digital and online IP enforcement, entertainment industry copyright, trademark disputes, and emerging technology IP advisory.
7. Fidus Law Chambers
Fidus Law Chambers is a Delhi-based intellectual property and commercial litigation firm that has developed a strong and growing practice across patent, trademark, copyright, and design law, with a client base that spans both Indian and international businesses. The firm has been particularly active in pharmaceutical patent litigation — a segment of Indian IP law that presents some of the most technically and legally complex challenges in the field — and has represented both innovator pharmaceutical companies and generic manufacturers in significant cases involving drug patent validity, compulsory licensing, and data exclusivity.
The firm’s trademark and copyright practice covers the full spectrum from application filing and prosecution through to enforcement, oppositions, and litigation, and it has developed a growing practice in trade secret protection — an area that is gaining significance as Indian businesses increasingly recognise that their commercially valuable information assets require legal protection that goes beyond registered IP rights. Fidus also advises on IP transactions including licensing agreements, assignment contracts, and IP due diligence in the context of mergers and acquisitions.
Practice strengths: Pharmaceutical patent litigation, trademark enforcement, trade secret advisory, copyright disputes, and IP transactional work.
8. BananaIP (IP Leaders)
BananaIP, also known under its professional services brand as IP Leaders, is one of India’s most innovative and technology-forward intellectual property firms — and its approach to IP practice genuinely reflects the characteristics of a firm built for the modern era rather than one adapting legacy practice models. Founded in Bengaluru, the firm has developed a practice that is unusually strong in the technology sector — advising startups, software companies, fintech firms, artificial intelligence ventures, and e-commerce businesses on the full range of IP issues they encounter from founding through scaling and exit.
What distinguishes BananaIP is its investment in proprietary technology tools that support more efficient and data-driven IP prosecution, clearance, and portfolio analysis, and its emphasis on IP education — the firm produces substantial public-access educational content about Indian IP law and runs training programmes for businesses that want to develop internal IP awareness. For India’s startup ecosystem, where founders often encounter IP questions without the budget for full-service legal engagement, BananaIP has positioned itself as an accessible and well-informed partner that can be engaged modularly at different stages of growth. Its Bengaluru roots also give it particular affinity with the South Indian technology and biotech ecosystem, which is generating increasing volumes of innovative IP.
Practice strengths: Technology and startup IP, patent and trademark prosecution, AI and software IP, IP portfolio strategy, and technology-enabled practice delivery.
9. Obhan & Associates
Obhan & Associates is a Delhi-based intellectual property firm that has built a practice of considerable depth across patent, trademark, copyright, and design law, with a client portfolio that spans multinational corporations, Indian conglomerates, and SMEs across sectors including consumer goods, technology, fashion, luxury goods, and entertainment. The firm’s trademark practice is one of its most recognised strengths — it handles a significant volume of brand clearance, prosecution, and enforcement work, and has particular expertise in the fashion and luxury goods sector where brand protection against counterfeiting and trademark dilution is commercially critical.
The firm’s copyright practice covers the creative industries extensively, including advisory on publishing contracts, music licensing, film copyright, and digital content rights — areas that are generating increasing legal complexity as content consumption moves across digital platforms and geographic boundaries simultaneously. Obhan also has a growing practice in geographical indications, which is relevant to India’s extraordinary diversity of regionally distinctive products — from Darjeeling tea and Kanchipuram silk to Basmati rice and Alphonso mangoes — that have commercial value directly tied to their geographical identity.
Practice strengths: Trademark prosecution and enforcement, fashion and luxury brand protection, copyright and creative industries advisory, and geographical indications.
10. Khurana & Khurana
Khurana & Khurana is a Noida-based intellectual property and technology law firm that has built a strong and growing reputation across patent, trademark, copyright, and IT law, with a practice model that deliberately integrates intellectual property advisory with the broader technology and commercial legal questions that its clients — which include a significant proportion of technology companies, startups, and e-commerce businesses — face simultaneously. The firm’s attorneys combine legal qualifications with technical backgrounds in engineering, computer science, and life sciences, which gives its patent prosecution work the technical credibility that high-quality patent drafting requires.
The firm has been particularly active in advising on the IP implications of emerging technologies — including artificial intelligence, blockchain, Internet of Things devices, and cloud computing architectures — where the boundaries of patentability are still being tested and clarified through examination practice at the Indian Patent Office and through litigation before the courts. Its international practice, which involves managing Indian filings for foreign clients and coordinating Indian prosecution with international filing strategies, has grown substantially as more global technology companies recognise India as a jurisdiction where patent protection is strategically valuable rather than merely formalistic.
Practice strengths: Patent prosecution in technology and life sciences, IT law and digital IP, emerging technology IP advisory, trademark practice, and international client representation.
What to Look for When Selecting an IP Law Firm in India
Choosing the right intellectual property firm is, at its core, a matter of matching your specific IP needs to the specific strengths of the firm — and understanding that not every strong IP firm is strong across all disciplines or sectors. A firm celebrated for pharmaceutical patent prosecution may not have the litigation depth you need if your primary concern is defending a trademark against infringement. A firm with exceptional digital IP expertise may not be the right choice for a complex mechanical engineering patent application.
The first question worth asking any potential IP firm is whether the attorney who will actually handle your matter — not just the partner you meet in the first conversation — has genuine technical understanding of your field. Patent claims, in particular, require an attorney who can engage with the substance of an invention rather than simply transcribing what an inventor has described. The quality of patent drafting determines the quality of the protection the patent ultimately confers, and there is no way to recover from poorly drafted claims once a patent has been granted.
The second question is about international coordination capability. If your IP assets or your business have any cross-border dimension — and for most businesses of any scale, they do — you need a firm that regularly works with leading IP practitioners in your key markets and understands how Indian IP rights interact with foreign rights in the same portfolio. The firms on this list all have meaningful international practice experience, but the depth of their specific international relationships varies, and matching those relationships to your geographic priorities matters.
The third question, and one that is often overlooked, is about the firm’s IP enforcement philosophy. Registered IP rights are only as valuable as the willingness and ability to enforce them, and the firms that bring the most value to enforcement situations — whether through licensing negotiations, cease-and-desist campaigns, customs recordation, or full litigation — are those with experienced litigators who have actually argued IP cases in Indian courts rather than simply filed applications.
Conclusion
India’s intellectual property law landscape in 2026 is richer, more sophisticated, and more consequential than at any previous point in the country’s legal history. The ten firms profiled above represent the clearest choices for clients ranging from global corporations managing large Indian IP portfolios to Indian startups building their first patent and trademark estate.
Each has earned its reputation through demonstrated expertise, sustained client trust, and a track record of outcomes in one of the most technically and legally demanding areas of legal practice. In a field where the quality of legal advice has direct commercial consequences — determining whether an innovation is protected or vulnerable, whether a brand is enforceable or exposed — choosing the right firm is among the most important decisions a business can make.
