Rakesh Prabhu is an Intellectual Property Counsel and a Registered Patent Agent (IN) and his areas of expertise broadly includes advising on obtaining Intellectual Property (IP) registrations, enforcements of IP rights, commercialization of IP rights and advising on building and management of IP portfolio.  In addition, Rakesh also advises on matters relating to Indian Immigration laws and compliances in India.

Rakesh studied law in the University Law College, Bangalore and graduated in the year 2000.  In the same year he was admitted to the Karnataka State Bar Council.  During the initial years, Rakesh practiced law before various courts, including Labour Courts, Central Government and Tax Tribunals, District Courts and the High Court of Karnataka representing interest of both private clients and government bodies, public sector banks and financial institutions.

Rakesh joined ALMT Legal in December 2003, as part of the team which set-up the Firm’s Bangalore office.  At ALMT Legal his key expertise includes:

• Advising & obtaining IP Registrations: As a Registered Patent Agent, Rakesh extensively advises his clients on patent drafting, filing and obtaining registrations in India.  He advises clients in obtaining wholistic protection for their brand and products through effective registrations under trademark, copyright and design laws.  Advising on strategies for protection of IP cross border. He also advises authors, creators and body of music composers on issues relating to copyright relating to their work in India.
• Advising on commercialization of IP: As part of the advisory, Rakesh continues to advise his clients drafting of IP licence agreements, IP transfer agreements, advising on acquisition of cross border IP.
• Enforcement of IP Rights: Rakesh has advised his clients in developing effective strategies in enforcing their IP rights.  This includes advising companies on issues relating to IP theft, Information Technology (IT) matters, data privacy, data theft, IP infringement and piracy related issues.  He has also been instrumental in advising his clients on detection, co-ordination and conducting raids in matters relating to IP theft and sale of counterfeit and spurious goods in India.
• Start-up Advisory: Rakesh has advised many start-up companies and entrepreneurs on IP protection and have guided them in building robust IP portfolios and navigating complex legal landscapes.  As part of the advisory, he conducts IP training and awareness camps for many start-up companies, incubation centres, student bodies and educational institutions.
• Thought Leadership: As a member of Karnataka State Innovation Council, Rakesh has advised the State Government of Karnataka on various legal issues relating to IP matters.  He continues to be a regular speaker on IP, representing various government bodies at IP awareness conferences, mostly addressing faculty members and mentoring students contributing to fostering awareness of IP rights and enforcement strategies.
• Advise on Immigration matters:  Rakesh has advised his clients on legal issues relating to immigration matters including Employment visas, Business visas, employment and labour law compliances in India, advise relating to rights of OCI & PIO card holders in India, acquisition of citizenship, renouncing nationality, cases relating to deportation etc