Astha Negi is a Principal Associate in the Trademark and Copyright team. She advises numerous Fortune 500 companies and represents the interest of clients from diverse industries and sectors. Astha is a graduate of the Indian Law Society’s Law College, Pune. She has completed a Copyright in Multimedia Course offered jointly by Duke University, Emory University and University of North Carolina and was selected as one among two representatives from India to attend a training course for trademark practitioners offered by the Japan Patent Office. Astha has also attended a summer school in intellectual property laws at the Xiamen University, China.

Before joining Fidus, Astha was a part of the Trademarks team with a large IP firm in India where she looked after the international trademark portfolios for leading Indian companies and managed trademark portfolios in South Asia for foreign clients. At Fidus, Astha manages and supervises trademark prosecution and contentious portfolios for the firm’s clients in a large number of jurisdictions, spanning South and East Asia, US, EU and the Middle East.

Astha’s practice is primarily focussed on opposition and cancellation proceedings and she has appeared in a large number of hearings before the Indian Trademark Office.

Astha is a member of the Emerging Issues Committee of the INTA. Astha is an empaneled trainer with the Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), Government of India and regularly trains students and university faculty on IP issues.

Astha’s meticulousness and nous are the twin qualities that endear her to clients. She is a historical documentary aficionado.

Awards and Rankings

  • World Trademark Review - Recommended Individual (prosecution and strategy), 2021
  • Legal 500 Asia Pacific - Recommended Lawyer, 2021
  • World Trademark Review - Recommended Individual (prosecution and strategy), 2020

    • Professional Highlights:

  • Successfully pursued contentious proceedings (including an appeal) in Nepal on behalf of a leading FMCG client against a long-time infringer.
  • Supervised or singlehandedly conducted due diligence of the IP portfolio for a major media company in India consisting of more than 300 trademarks and 30 domain name and copyright registrations before a potential takeover/merger.
  • Cross-jurisdictional success: Negotiated with an infringer of an internationally well- known furniture brand in Sri Lanka and obtained a withdrawal of the infringer’s trademark application in less than 10 days and an undertaking to not use the mark.
  • Achieved a 24 hour take-down of infringing uses online of the trademark of an internationally well-known furniture brand in Sri Lanka without engaging with the intermediary.
  • Strategically advised a major Indian hospitality start-up for its global trademark filings and protection.
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