The Indian Journal of Intellectual Property Law (IJIPL) is the flagship intellectual property law

journal of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. IJIPL is India’s first student run journal that is
wholly devoted to the study of intellectual property law. Published annually, it is the combined
endeavour of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad and the N.C. Banerjee Centre for Intellectual
Property Rights Studies to address contemporary issues in the field of intellectual property law.

The IJIPL has had distinguished contributors to its previous editions such as late Prof Shamnad
Basheer, Prof Srividhya Ragavan, Dr Mrinalini Kochupillai, Prof Michele Boldrin, Prof David
Levine and many other renowned experts of the field.

Authors are encouraged to explore contemporary theoretical and legal controversies relating to
intellectual property law and policy. However, fresh and interesting perspectives on IP policy as well as
interdisciplinary perspectives on the subject are welcome. For reference, the 13th Volume of the
journal can be accessed here.

The Journal is presently soliciting submissions for its 14th Volume, to be released tentatively in
August, 2024. Undergraduate students, post-graduate students, practitioners, faculty and other
academicians are invited to contribute to the Journal in the form of essays, articles, notes and
comments. The last date for submission of papers is 29th February, 2024.

ijipl.nalsar.ac.in [email protected]
 SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

1. Text and citations must conform to the rules in OSCOLA (4th edition). The Journal employs
footnotes as the method of citation. Speaking footnotes, though not prohibited, are discouraged

2. The text of the submission must be in Times New Roman or Garamond, size 12 and 1.5
spacing. The footnotes should be in Times New Roman, size 10 and Single spacing.

3. Co-authorship of up to maximum 4 authors per piece is permissible for manuscripts

submitted to the journal. The Editorial Board may allow for a higher number of co-authors for
a single submission on a case-to-case basis.

4. All submissions must be accompanied by:

a. A separate document containing the biographical information of the authors, including the
following details: Name, E‐mail address, Postal Address, Name and Address of Institution,
Course (if applicable), Academic Year. No reference to the name or the affiliations of the
author must be present in the text of the submission and must only be provided in this
separate document.
b. An abstract of not more than 350 words describing the submission. Please note that there is
no requirement of prior submission of the abstract, as papers are selected for publication
only on the basis of the full manuscript. The abstract shall serve merely to help the Editorial
Board in its review process.

5. The submissions must fall into one of the following categories:

a. Articles:
An article must comprehensively analyse the issue that the author seeks to highlight. It must
contain a rigorous study of the status quo or a contemporary issue. An article should be between
5,000‐8,000 words.

b. Essays:
An essay challenges the existing paradigms/norms and provides a fresh outlook to common
problems. It is strongly recommended that essays be considerably more concise than articles, in
terms of scope and conceptualization. An essay must thus ideally be between 3,000‐5,000 words.

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 c. Notes:
A note is a relatively concise form of an argument advanced by the author. The focus of a
note should be on a relatively recent debate or controversy regarding the interpretation or
implementation of the law. The word limit for a note is 2,500 words.

d. Book Review/Comment:
This category allows the author to discuss and critique any recent book or a recent
landmark judicial pronouncement, legislation or pending bill. The word limit for this
category is 2,500 words.

6. Each submission must be the original work of its author(s). Any submissions found to be
plagiarized from another source will be automatically rejected. To this end, a plagiarism check will be
conducted as the first stage of evaluation.

7. Submissions must be in accordance with the Submissions Guidelines and Editorial Policy. The
contributions accepted for publication and the copyright therein shall remain jointly with the
Author(s) and the IJIPL. Any person desiring to use IJIPL’s material for education purposes,
research or private study can do so with prior written permission of the Publisher
([email protected]).

8. All author(s), by submitting any contribution towards IJIPL, hereby consent to indemnify
NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad and IJIPL from and against all claims, suits and
consequences based on any claim of copyright infringement/unauthorized use/violation of any right
which may arise as a result of their contribution being published in IJIPL.

9. Author(s) must inform the Editorial Board if their manuscripts have been submitted to other
journals. Authors may request an expedited review on these grounds, but the granting of the
same is within the discretion of the Editorial Board.

Kindly send submissions to: [email protected]. The subject line must read “Submission for Vol. 14”.
Queries may be directed to the same mail address, with “Query | Vol. 14” in the subject line.
Editorial and Peer Review Policy and other information about the Journal can be found on
ijipl.nalsar.ac.in.

ijipl.nalsar.ac.in [email protected]
 EDITORIAL AND PEER REVIEW POLICY

The Indian Journal of Intellectual Property Law (IJIPL) is the flagship intellectual property law
journal of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.

We shall follow the Editorial Review Process outlined below:

1. At the preliminary stage, the Editorial Board shall scrutinize the submission for plagiarism
and its suitability for the focus area as outlined in the Submission Guidelines. If the
submission does not meet these requirements, the submission shall be rejected at this stage
itself and the Author(s) shall be informed regarding the rejection at the earliest.

2. The Editorial Board shall review the submission for depth of content and structured
argumentation. They may reject the submission at this stage. In certain cases, the Author(s)
may receive suggestions from the editors and further progression along the editorial
process may be made subject to incorporation of such suggestions within the given
deadline.

3. Selected submissions shall be forwarded to a Peer Reviewer with expertise in the subject
area. The peer review process is double-blind i.e., anonymous as to both the Peer Reviewer
as well as the Author(s). The Peer Reviewer may recommend rejection or acceptance and
provide feedback regarding the submission. If the submission is rejected, the same shall be
communicated to the Author(s).

4. If the submission is recommended for acceptance, the comments and suggestions of the
Editorial Board as well as the Peer Reviewer may be provided to the Author(s). Such
comments may include both substantive and style changes. Publication of the submission
in the Journal shall be contingent upon the incorporation of such suggestions within the
given deadline.

In case of a submission which has been solicited by the Editorial Board, one or more of the
above stages may be dispensed with, subject to unanimous approval of the Editorial Board.

ijipl.nalsar.ac.in [email protected]
 PUBLICATION AND ETHICS POLICY

The Indian Journal of Intellectual Property Law (IJIPL) is the flagship intellectual property law
journal of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad. IJIPL is India’s first student run journal that is
wholly devoted to the study of intellectual property law. Published annually, it is the combined
endeavour of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad and the N.C. Banerjee Centre for Intellectual
Property Rights Studies to address contemporary issues in the field of intellectual property law.

IJIPL is committed to adopt the highest standards of ethics and take all possible measures against
any publication malpractices. Publication and Ethics Policy of IJIPL is based on the Committee on
Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines on good publication practice. All the members of the
Editorial Board (‘Board’), Advisory Panel, Peer Reviewers (‘Reviewers’), Authors and contributors
are subjected to this policy.

1. Publication Decisions

The Editorial Board of IJIPL is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the
Journal should be published. The Journal abides by legal requirements as shall then be in force
regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editors shall confer with the Board and
the Reviewers in making this decision.

2. Non-Discrimination

The manuscripts would be evaluated by the Board and the Reviewers for intellectual content
without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, and/or
political philosophy of the Author(s).

3. Confidentiality

The Board and the Reviewers will not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to
anyone other than the corresponding Author(s), Reviewers and the Board.

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4. Privacy

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript will not be used by any of the Board
members or Reviewers in their own research without the express written permission of the
Author(s).

5. Acknowledgement of Sources

The Author(s) should always duly acknowledge the work of others and should cite the influential
publication in determination of nature their work. The Author(s) is directed to not use the
information obtained by conversation, private correspondence or discussion with third parties
without express permission from them.

6. Fundamental errors in Published Works

If the Author(s) discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, it is their
obligation to promptly notify the Board and cooperate with to retract or correct the paper.

7. Conflict of Interest

The Board, the Reviewers and the Author(s) are to acknowledge upfront any relationship that they
think could be said as resulting in a certain or perceived conflict of interest with regard to the article.
If an editor of the Board has a conflict of interest that may bias their treatment of the manuscript
under consideration, they will excuse themselves from handling the manuscript.

8. Plagiarism and Improper Authorship

Submissions will be subjected to a check for any plagiarism in the first stage of evaluation. Any cases
of plagiarism or improper authorship on behalf of the Author(s) will not be tolerated and shall stand
rejected in the first instance. Plagiarism can occur in respect to all types of sources and all media.
Improper authorship refers to cases where the person who has contributed the article is unqualified
as an author or where someone who has not contributed to the article but has been listed as an
author merely to express gratitude or any other reason.

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9. Dealing with Unethical Behaviour

Unethical behaviour may be identified and brought to the attention of the Board at any time and by
anyone. Whoever informs the Board of such conduct should provide sufficient information and
evidence in order for an investigation to be initiated. All allegations will be taken seriously. The
Board will contact the Author(s) of the manuscript and giving due consideration of the respective
complaint or claims made, may also, reject the article or if published, issue a formal notice for formal
retraction or withdrawal of a publication from the journal.

10. Duplicate Submission

Simultaneous submissions of the same manuscript to different journals will not be tolerated. The
submitted article will be removed with notice.

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