Dr. Gopakumar G. Nair | Gnanlex Associates LLP
What’s the secret ingredient to a successful business? Is it a groundbreaking idea, a talented team, or a strong business plan? The answer might surprise you: It’s often the intangible assets—the intellectual property—that truly sets a company apart.
In today’s fast-paced world, protecting your intellectual assets is more crucial than ever. From the latest smartphone to the groundbreaking pharmaceutical drug, intellectual property rights are at the heart of every innovation. Without strong IP protection, businesses risk losing billions of dollars to counterfeiters and copycats.
Gnanlex Associates LLP stands as a beacon of expertise and excellence in the IP industry. Founded in 2002 by the visionary Dr. Gopakumar G. Nair, this premier IP consultancy firm has been at the forefront of safeguarding intellectual assets for a diverse clientele, including biotechnology, biomedical, chemical, healthcare, pharmaceutical, and other knowledge-based industries.
Dr. Gopakumar G. Nair, the driving force behind Gnanlex, is a seasoned legal expert with a deep understanding of the intricacies of intellectual property law. With a career spanning decades, he has been instrumental in shaping India’s intellectual property landscape. His extensive experience and strategic insights have enabled Gnanlex to provide unparalleled legal and technical solutions.
Gnanlex Associates boasts a team of highly skilled professionals, each bringing a unique blend of expertise and passion to the table.
Gnanlex Associates provides a comprehensive suite of IP services, covering the entire spectrum of intellectual property rights. From securing patents for groundbreaking inventions to protecting trademarks and copyrights, the firm provides end-to-end solutions. Their services include patent filing and prosecution, trademark registration and enforcement, copyright and design protection, patent non-infringement and freedom-to-operate analysis, licensing and technology transfer, IP due diligence and valuation, and IP litigation and dispute resolution.
In this exclusive edition of “The Best Performing Leader Behind An Admired Company 2024,” we delve into the inspiring journey of Dr. Gopakumar G. Nair. Learn from his invaluable insights and discover the secrets behind his success. Stay tuned to uncover the story of a true visionary who has shaped the future of intellectual property in India.
Prime Insights: Brief us on theinception story of the company.
My journey into the world of intellectual property began in the late sixties, when I was actively involved in the pharmaceutical industry. After completing my Ph.D. in NMR applications to organic chemistry and a brief stint at IIT Mumbai, I joined Bombay Drug House, where I gained valuable experience and insights into the industry.
I was fortunate to be part of several industry associations, including AIMO, AIAI, and IDMA. I held various leadership positions in these organizations, contributing to the growth and development of the Indian pharmaceutical industry. I was also actively involved in international forums, representing India in the Uruguay Round discussions and deliberations.
In the early 2000s, I transitioned from the pharmaceutical industry to the world of intellectual property. I founded Gopakumar Nair Associates, a boutique IP firm dedicated to providing high-quality legal and technical solutions to clients in the biotechnology, biomedical, chemical, healthcare, pharmaceutical, and other knowledge-based industries.
Over the years, we have grown into Gnanlex Associates LLP, a leading IP consultancy firm. Our team of dedicated professionals is committed to protecting our clients’ intellectual assets and helping them navigate the complex landscape of intellectual property law.
One of our key focuses has been to support innovation and research, especially in the public sector. We have worked closely with government research institutions like CSIR-NCL and IISER to help them protect their intellectual property and commercialize their research findings.
We have also been actively involved in raising awareness about intellectual property rights and providing training and education to various stakeholders. Our efforts have contributed to the development of a strong IP ecosystem in India.
As we continue to grow and evolve, we remain committed to providing exceptional legal services and helping our clients achieve their business goals. We are proud of our achievements and look forward to the future, where we will continue to be at the forefront of intellectual property law.
Prime Insights: How have you kept a balance between your personal life and your professional one?
I have been able to balance my personal and professional lives along with the various CSR activities I am committed to.
Even from the early sixties, when I was doing my Ph.D., I have never tried to separate or distinguish my personal life from my professional life. Spirituality and the search for “who am I” have been of personal interest to me. On the personal front, I have followed my gurus and mentors to give back what I was blessed by the society and community. I have helped to renovate and rebuild the family temple built or maintained by my ancestors over many years. I have built and dedicated our local society’s community hall to commemorate my distinguished grandfather. A fully equipped and self-contained smart classroom has been donated to the local school by me.
From my early days in Mumbai, I have been associated with a minority (Kerala) educational charitable trust, Bharat Education Society, Kurla, Mumbai, from 1969 as the Vice President and from 1990 as the Hon. President. Karthika High School and Junior College at Kurla, with nearly 10,000 students run by the Bharat Education Society, has a very illustrious past, present, and future. The foundation stone for the present school building (from a handsome donation from the Nair family) was laid by none other than Shri Chinmayananda Swamiji and was inaugurated by Dr. P.V. Cherian, the then Governor of Maharashtra, Dr. Tara Cherian, Dr. Rafique Zakharia, and, among others, Shri. Ramakrishnan of Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan. Vivek High School was founded by BES in East Kurla later in the seventies. Both these educational institutions contributed immensely to upgrading the standard of living and community culture in the erstwhile slums of Kurla. After Dr. Nair became the President, the Bharat Education Society acquired 34 acres of land in Neral and set up a school and junior college for remote areas of Neral. A residential school for Adivasi and tribal children (from KG to 12th Standard) under the Namankit project of the government has been managed exemplarily at the Matheran Valley English Medium School (MVES) at Vanjarpada, Neral.
In 2002, Dr. Nair founded another charitable trust, CIPROM (Centre for Intellectual Property Management), which publishes a monthly CIPROM newsletter, contributing to IP policy and advocacy ever since.
On the professional front, Dr. Nair moved out from research at NCL and IIT, Mumbai, to the pharma industry in 1968. From the pharma dosage form formulation industry at BDH (earlier Bombay Drug House Pvt Ltd) Industries Ltd, Dr. Nair founded a DSIR (DST)-approved, research and development-based API/bulk drug and specialty chemical manufacturing public limited company, Bombay Drugs & Pharma Ltd (BDPL) in the eighties and spearheaded the company to its various accomplishments till 2000. Having been involved in negotiations leading to WTO and TRIPS (Trade related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights), Dr. Nair preferred to merge his public limited company with a larger pharma conglomerate in Bangalore and moved out into a new “avatar” (actually his third or fourth one) as an IP attorney through Intellectual Property Practice, emerging as a leading patent attorney in India with a global reputation.
Prime Insights: Being a CEO, is your story of struggle any different from others?
Any success story is an outcome of vision, team building, leadership, hard work, sincerity, and customer satisfaction. As a CEO, I ensured a sound balance of these basic principles of handling a business, leading to us being one of the most sought-after IPR attorney firms in the country today. Our story is only different, having 100% dedicated attention to our client community.
Prime Insights: What kind of clients do you serve? Any special mentions?
We have been in a unique position where my client profile varies from individual students, scientists, or technologists to Fortune 500 companies listed in various stock exchanges globally. Universities, publicly funded research institutions, and MSMEs have been our clients for patents and other IPRs. We were also fortunate to forge associations with various start-ups, advise them in their journey from ideation to market, and hand-hold them in formulating a strong patent portfolio that positively impacted their valuation.
Prime Insights: How do you keep up the pace with the changing market trends?
I am an avid reader and also continuously interact with different stakeholders in my field: clients, Patent Office officials, etc., and also usually am invited to or attend key annual events in my field. All this enables me to keep myself updated on advancements and changing market trends. I am also actively and dedicatedly supported by well-qualified and committed team members such as Dr. Srividya Ravi, Mr. Sajeevkumar Nair, and others.
Prime Insights: Do you believe R&D is essential for the growth of the company?
Research, development, innovation, and invention are the cornerstones for the progress of any type of organization. The pulse of the market should be continuously monitored, and any new need or gap that arises should be fulfilled by diligent research and the introduction of validated, affordable products to remain relevant in any industry, the latest being the application of digital and machine learning for the use of AI (artificial intelligence) in innovation, research, and IP.
Prime Insights: Do you feel CEOs today face equal competition, or is there an it’s okay’ attitude to it?
Competition is the fuel for excellence in any field. Competition pushes us to constantly upgrade our vision and mission as well as strategies for keeping up with ever-changing business and IP scenarios nationally and internationally. Anyone with the “it is okay” culture falls off sooner or later.
Prime Insights: How necessary do you feel it is to keep your employees content? How do you ensure it?
In the service industry, the greatest asset that the organization possesses is human resources. So, keeping employees content, happy, continuously updated, trained, and competent, and providing the necessary freedom are keys to success. Our approach is very hands-on; we interact with all our employees frequently and keep in contact over the phone, mail, or social media. Problems encountered are not treated as issues but as challenges, and we deal with them as a team till we resolve them diligently. We have no employer-employee feeling or divide in our organization. We work as a team and fulfill our commitments on a 100%, 360-degree approach and address the goals collectively with total commitment and team spirit.
Prime Insights: Who do you look up to, and what do you convey further to the ones who look up to you?
I look up to my team for support and dedicated and committed contributions, encouraging, motivating, and supporting the team who look up to me for leadership, which I extend on a “need-based” basis in operations and continuously on fulfillment of goals and mission IP.
Prime Insights: What are your thoughts on CEOs’ participation in the entrepreneurial world?
A CEO is born with an entrepreneurial spirit and self-motivation. Having been an entrepreneur, the needs of newer entrepreneurs and start-up innovators are easily assimilated and enabled to be of assistance and service.
Prime Insights: What message do you want to give to those CEOs who give up on their dreams because of some stereotypes?
“Failure to innovate” is of prime concern. “Change is the constant element in today’s world.” Be ready to change with the times. Studying case histories such as Kodak, Xerox, Nokia, IBM, Blackberry, Polaroid, Motorola, and Walkman will help communicate the message that “continuous innovation to keep pace with change” is essential to lead, if not to survive.
Prime Insights: What does the company hold for it in the future (plans)?
We propose to infuse younger talents with newer ideas to cater to the needs of our emerging clients with futuristic tools such as the use of “AI” and machine learning, augmented reality, and deep processing.
Prime Insights: What milestones and achievements does the company boast of?
Gnanlex Group was one of the earliest boutique IPR law firms in India and stands firm to date, 22 years from the date of its inception. Being a part of one of the first landmark cases and case laws related to patenting in India, being a service provider for leading governmental institutions such as CSIR and defense bodies, being appointed as an adviser to the patent office, and winning the World IP Forum Award as the most valuable IP person in the nation are some of the accomplishments that we are proud of. We have opened offices in multiple rising technoparks and start-up centers in India and look forward to emerging as partners in service to the amazing technology-based start-up and innovation culture in India and overseas.
Prime Insights: How are you giving back to society (CSR)?
As already stated, we are actively engaging with newer, younger innovators and start-up entrepreneurs and encouraging them with affordable services. We also give back to the society and community through our active involvement in awareness creation and proficiency generation in intellectual properties through GNA Patent Gurukul, technology transfer and licensing through GNA Patent Bazaar, policy and advocacy support through CIPROM (Centre for Intellectual Property Management), and educational services through Bharat Education Society, Karthika High School & Junior College, Vivek High School, Matheran Valley English Medium School, and college, as well as support to Adivasi and tribal children’s empowerment through “Namankit,” a fully residential school and college, with scholarships for higher education.
Prime Insights: Lastly, is there a message you would like to give to Prime Insights readers?
“Never stop learning.” What you learnt yesterday is out of date today. We are in a fast-changing world. The pace of “change” is picking up. If you don’t keep pace with “change” and keep learning the newer technologies and knowledge, you will “retire” before you retire. And lastly, never “retire.” Keep learning and emerge into your new “avatars” as new entrepreneurs through knowledge startups. The new “Manthra” is AI, machine learning, deep processing, and so on and so forth.
