Indian firm Khaitan & Co has lost a Mumbai IP lawyer to rivals FoxMandal Little (FML).

Patent and trademark specialist Vinay Dwarkadas - credited as a founding member of Khaitan & Co's Mumbai IP practice - joins FML as a partner in the firm's Dehli IP practice.

On his appointment, Dwarkadas said he will ensure that the firms' mission statement aims are put into practice. "Visions and ambition statements are fine on paper but they need to be executed to finality or else they continue to remain in fine print," he said. "I want to see FML's vision and ambition statement to be translated into a success story—I have miles to go before I sleep."

Indian law firms may also be gearing up for changes to the country's IP regime in the coming years, as major brands - most recently including retail giant Wal Mart - increasingly eye the relatively buoyant Indian economy, and as familiarity with global IP regulations and standards grows.

"India is now more than well placed to afford protection to proprietors of intellectual property rights world over," said Dwarkadas. "With the support of the World Intellectual Property Organization, [India's] various offices overseeing the regulation and enforcement of IP laws will very soon fall in line and conformity with... IPR regimes in jurisdictions the world over."

Who are Asia's leading IP firms this year? Find out in ALB's June issue.