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We started in 1985 in a single room set up by the two founders with no prior experience of working in a law firm. Both the founders had outstanding academic records and focused on their deep understanding of the law to form the foundation of the firm.
Integrity, Knowledge and Passion are the principles that resonate with every member of our LKS family and the work that we do. These values drive us to build a community of legally sound professionals and well-serviced clients.
Everything we have accomplished over the last four decades is a result of our unique way of thinking which is deeply influenced by our core values and principles that define us.
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We understand the constant need to stay informed about the latest developments in your field. In this section, we curate the most relevant and impactful updates covering developments in various laws.
Use of celebrity names, images for satire, parodies, news, etc. not falls foul to tort of infringement of right of publicity
In an interesting case involving infringement of right of publicity, the Delhi High Court, after relying on number of foreign judgements, has held that use of celebrity names, images for the purposes of lampooning, satire, parodies, art, scholarship, music, academics, news and other similar uses would be permissible as facets of the right of freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India.
Pre-import condition under advance authorisation scheme upheld by Supreme Court
In the decision rendered on 28 April 2023, the Supreme Court has reversed the decision of Gujarat High Court and held that the ‘pre-import condition’ stipulated in grant of exemption from payment of IGST & Compensation Cess is not ultra vires. The Gujarat High Court had held that grant of IGST exemption with ‘pre-import condition’ was arbitrary and that such condition was ultra vires the scheme of the Foreign Trade Policy.
Arbitration agreement, which is part of an unstamped contract, has no existence
The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court, comprising of 5 Judges, has on 25 April 2023, answered in affirmative the question as to whether the statutory bar contained in Section 35 of the Stamp Act, 1899 applicable to instruments chargeable to stamp duty under Section 3 read with the Schedule to the Act, would also render the arbitration agreement contained in an instrument, as being non-existent, pending payment of stamp duty on the substantive contract/instrument.
Anti-dumping duty – Products not sold by domestic industry in commercial quantities to be excluded
The Anti-dumping Bench of the CESTAT, in two separate decisions, has allowed exclusion of ‘clad with compatible non-clad aluminium foil’ and ‘Lithograde aluminium coils above 1150 mm’ from the scope of the product - certain flat rolled products of aluminium, in a dispute involving imposition of anti-dumping duty on flat rolled products of aluminium from China PR.
Standard Essential Patent owners can pray for interim and final injunctive relief – Four-fold test for admission of infringement, as laid down in Nokia case, not as per law
A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court has held that Standard Essential Patent owners, who file lawsuits, can pray for interim and final injunctive relief if an infringer is deemed by a Court to be an ‘unwilling licensee,’ often as indicated by the use of ‘stalling’ and other opportunistic bargaining and litigation tactics.
Trademarks – Prior use – Date of registration and not use, when relevant
Taking note of Section 34 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, the Delhi High Court has held that the relevant date for the purpose of establishing prior use, in the dispute, would be the ‘date of registration’ of the mark and not when the Plaintiff actually started using it.
IT Intermediary Amendment Rules 2023 notified for online gaming industry
The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023 (‘IT Intermediary Amendment Rule 2023’) have been notified on 6 April 2023, following an extended timeline of public consultation on the draft of Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) which were published in January 2023. The summary of the IT Intermediary Amendment Rules 2023 is...
With the new approach of tax remission instead of incentives; greater trade facilitation through technology, automation, and continuous process re-engineering; export promotion through collaboration; and focus on emerging areas like e-commerce exports, developing districts as export hubs, streamlining SCOMET policy, etc., the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has on 31 March 2023 unveiled Foreign Trade Policy 2023.
Anti-dumping Rules are not inconsistent with RTI Act – Disclosure of ‘confidential information’ is not possible
In an interesting dispute involving interplay of anti-dumping proceedings under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-Dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995 (‘Anti-dumping Rules’) with the Right to Information Act, 2005 (‘RTI Act’), the Delhi High Court has held that there is no inconsistency between the provisions of the RTI Act and the Anti-dumping Rules.
Money laundering provisions to apply to Cryptocurrency sector
Based on the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (‘FATF’), the Finance Ministry, vide Notification dated 7 March 2023 has brought cryptocurrency exchanges within the ambit of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (‘PMLA’ or ‘Act’) by including them within the definition of ‘reporting entity’.
