Hari Subramaniam has a background in medicine, biological and life sciences, physics and chemistry. He has had specialised advanced training in medicine, biotechnology, electronics and medicinal chemistry at various international institutions of repute. He was registered as a patent agent and admitted to the bar in 1981. He has been in practice for over 40 years, specialising in all aspects of intellectual property law. Previously, he was associated with Remfry & Sagar, attorneys-at-law, for nearly 17 years - for a substantial part thereof as partner in charge of the patents and designs department. 

 

In the course of his career, Hari has filed, prosecuted, defended, opposed and/or enforced (directly or in a supervisory capacity) over 45,000 patent matters in India and abroad. He has extensive experience in oppositions and IP litigation. He possesses formidable skills in drafting and prosecuting patent applications in most countries of the world, and in practically every area of technology. He was nominated by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) to conduct workshops on the Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT) and as a tutor for patent specification drafting techniques. 

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Hari is on the teaching faculty of a number of legal and technical institutes in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Many of his former and current students hold important positions in the IP departments of law firms and in the corporate sector. He has been called upon several times as an expert witness before the Joint Parliamentary Committee for the amendment of patent laws in India. He is also regularly invited as faculty member or speaker for several seminars, conferences and patents awareness workshops conducted by the Government of India, WIPO and various international organisations, such as the American Bar Association (ABA), International Trade Marks Association (INTA), Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle (AIPPI) and Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA), and universities across the world. He was part of an expert group and task force on patents for the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and is a faculty member on the Technology Information Forecasting Assessment Cell (TIFAC), Government of India. He was also part of a three member delegation deputed to Mauritius by the Indian government to advise the Prime Minister of Mauritius on the amendment of Mauritian patent laws.

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Hari was the first person to initiate black box (mailbox) applications in India under the GATT/TRIPS Agreement for pharmaceutical products, and his applications were the basis for the Patent Office to formulate rules and policies for filing, receiving and examination of mail box applications. As an expert witness before the Joint Parliamentary Committee, where he was also spearhead for the CII, Hari was instrumental in bringing into effect the pharmaceutical product patent regime in India. Hari is an expert in GATT/TRIPS and PCT related issues. Hari was part of the TIFAC team which initiated a Women's Scholarship Scheme to draw into the mainstream the huge scientific pool of talent existing in the form of highly qualified but not employed women in India. He, along with many other eminent lawyers, trained such women in the intellectual property laws, which has added 2000 patent attorneys to the profession.

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Hari is currently serving as President-Elect of the APAA International Body, and is the first Indian to be elected to this position. He is also the only person to have been elected to the position of President of the India chapter of APAA twice. He was also the International Vice President of the APAA for 13 consecutive years until 2016, and has been Councillor of the APAA for 20 consecutive years. He was one of four Indian attorneys featured in a cover story of Asia IP, entitled “50 Patent Lawyers One Should Know”. Other than the various awards he frequently receives for his long-standing expertise and excellence in intellectual property law, he has been nominated as “Patent Attorney of the Year” in India on numerous occasions by several leading law magazines.

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Hari is also involved with several charitable causes, including pro bono legal work for underprivileged women and victims of domestic violence, and their education, rehabilitation and employment.