Trusted IP partner for tactical protection of Intellectual Property — with decades of international expertise and relentless focus on protecting the value of IP
Menezes Gaonkar LLP, also known as MG-IP, was founded by seasoned IP attorneys with international IP experience. Our founders embarked on a mission to deliver value-based and quality focused Intellectual Property Services that transcend conventional boundaries to our customers.
At MG-IP, we firmly believe that the true value of our customer’s innovation and trade resides in quality of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). Hence, our unwavering commitment is to protect the value of your IP and not just IP through our decades of international IP expertise.
International Expertise
Why choose us
Our team has several decades of combined experience in handling patent portfolio in multiple jurisdictions like US, Europe, India, PCT, etc. Therefore, our work product embodies best practices from major jurisdictions.
Strategic IP Portfolio
Why choose us
Our team have experience in handling IP portfolio of Multinational Clients who focus on close alignment between IP strategy and business strategy. Our team has handled patent matters which required close alignment with Company's IP Strategy and Standards
Technical Expertise
Why choose us
We work with clients based on our expertise in technological domains. Our team has decades of experience in drafting and prosecuting applications in such domains
Focus on quality
Why choose us
Our team aim is to focus on quality of patents i.e. to obtain broad enforceable patents in jurisdictions of interests
Adv. Shalini Sitaraman Menezes, Ph.D.
Senior Partner
A former physicist turned IP Attorney and finance professional, Shalini brings a unique perspective to the realm of intellectual property. She firmly believes that IP is not just an abstract concept but a tangible asset that deserves meticulous protection, valuation, and monetization to unlock its true potential.
With over 15 years of hands-on experience in drafting, filing, and prosecuting intellectual property matters in both the United States and India, Shalini has honed her expertise to the highest degree. Her counsel on matters related to IP strategy and protection, both in the US and India, is highly sought-after.
She's a registered Trade Mark and Patent Agent in India. As our esteemed Founding Partner, Shalini Sitaraman Menezes embodies the spirit of innovation, the precision of the law, and the vision to harness ‘true value’ of intellectual property assets.
Pranay Prabhu Gaonkar
Senior Partner
Pranay Prabhu Gaonkar, a distinguished figure in the world of intellectual property, brings two decades of unwavering commitment and expertise to our firm. With a robust track record in drafting and prosecuting patent applications across multiple jurisdictions, including Europe, the United States, India, and China, Pranay's expertise spans diverse domains such as deep tech, computer software, electronics, electrical and mechanical engineering. His multi-faceted ‘value focused’ approach to IP protection ensures comprehensive coverage for our clients.
Pranay's tenure as Vice President and Head of IP for a prominent German-based technology company in India, where he focused on cultivating a culture of sustainable innovation, crafting effective IP strategies, and enhancing the quality of inventions, extends over a decade. His experience further includes stints at distinguished law firms based out of both the United States and India, where he specialized in the US and Indian patent drafting and prosecution for fortune 500 companies, enriching his global expertise on IP law.
IP Strategy
Our offerings
Developing an effective Intellectual Property (IP) strategy is a critical step that should precede protection of your intellectual property assets. Without a well-defined IP strategy, you might find yourself navigating the complex world of IP protection without a clear direction, which can lead to missed opportunities, inefficiencies, and potential risks. An IP strategy serves as a roadmap that outlines how your business plans to create, manage, and leverage its intellectual property assets to achieve its overall objectives. It’s a comprehensive plan that aligns your IP efforts with your broader business goals, ensuring that your intellectual property contributes to your company’s success in a meaningful way. We are here to help you strategize your IP protection!
a) IP Process establishment The IP submission process ensures that IPs in your innovations are reported timely for further consideration. The IP evaluation process employs a discerning eye to identify which of IPs hold the most potential and warrant strategic protection. The Inventor Remuneration Process ensures that Inventors/IP Creators contributions are duly recognized and rewarded, fostering a culture of innovation within your organization. Additionally, the IP risk assessment process adds a layer of foresight, proactively identifying potential risks associated with new products or solutions before they become hurdles with respect to third party IPRs.
Collaborating with us to establish an IP process in your organisation means equipping your company with a structured framework for timely and strategically safeguarding your Company and its Intellectual Property. In other words, it means elevating your innovation game, safeguarding your ideas, and capitalizing on the value they hold. Let us partner with you to lay the foundation for a thriving IP journey that fuels growth, fosters innovation, and secures your competitive edge in the market. Your R&D brilliance deserves the armor of a well-orchestrated IP process, and we are here to craft the process for you as a first step.
b) Formulation of IP Strategy Developing an effective Intellectual Property (IP) strategy is a critical step that should precede protection of your intellectual property assets. Without a well-defined IP strategy, you might find yourself navigating the complex world of IP protection without a clear direction, which can lead to missed opportunities, inefficiencies, and potential risks. An IP strategy serves as a roadmap that outlines how your business plans to create, manage, and leverage its intellectual property assets to achieve its overall objectives. It's a comprehensive plan that aligns your IP efforts with your broader business goals, ensuring that your intellectual property contributes to your company's success in a meaningful way.
c) IP Counselling Wish to seek advice from IP experts for example, how to manage IP or how to make your employees familiar with Intellectual Property or how to generate inventions, create innovation culture or entering into a collaboration agreement? Do reach out to us and we would be happy to support you!
Patents
Our offerings
Patents protect your inventive value propositions from unauthorized use by third parties in a particular jurisdiction. A well drafted patent specification is important for capturing the value of your inventive value proposition. With our decades of expertise in drafting patent applications in different fields of business, we help you draft international standard quality patent specifications that protects your inventive value proposition and not just an invention.
i) Patent Application Drafting With our Founding Partners’ more than a decade of expertise in drafting patent applications in different emerging technology fields, we can help you draft good quality patent applications that protects your inventive value proposition and not just an invention.
ii) Patent Application Filing: If you wish to file patent applications in India via ordinary route, conventional route or PCT route, we would be happy to assist in filing your patent applications with the Indian Patent Office.
If you wish to file your patent application outside India, we have a network of qualified and experienced patent attorneys and law firms across the globe. Our associate attorneys will file patent applications for your desired jurisdictions.
iii) Patent Prosecution We have seen the both worlds (corporate and law firm) and are well versed in understanding what is expected during prosecution of patent applications (e.g., consistency and broad scope of protection). We are aware that the scope of protection shall be aligned with the IP Strategy of your company, and we do take care of protecting ‘value’ you desire to protect via patents.
Trademarks
Our offerings
A trade mark serves as a distinctive symbol that sets apart products or services of our clients from those offered by third party. It carries responsibility of establishing a clear differentiation between one enterprise’s offerings and those of its counterparts. A well-crafted trademark strikes a delicate balance between being recognizable and distinct while refraining from divulging the inherent qualities of the associated goods or services. Reach out to us if you need to tactically protect your Trade Mark!
Trade Mark Registration: A trademark should avoid any indication that directly implies the nature or characteristics of the goods or services being sold under its banner. This requirement ensures that the trademark remains a unique identifier, preserving its capacity to uniquely represent the source of origin rather than merely describing the products or services themselves. In essence, a well-crafted trademark strikes a delicate balance between being recognizable and distinct while refraining from divulging the inherent qualities of the associated goods or services. Reach out to us if you need to protect your Trade Mark!
Copyrights
Our offerings
Safeguarding your creative endeavors is our top priority. We offer comprehensive copyright protection, ensuring that your literary, artistic, or musical works, alongside films and recordings, remain shielded from unauthorized use or reproduction. Our robust measures and legal expertise are dedicated to preserving and defending your intellectual property rights, providing you with the peace of mind to continue innovating and creating without worry.
Copyright protection is available for the expression, not the idea and you can protect your work of art for many years to come.
If you wish to protect your original work in India, we would be happy to file copyright applications for you with the Indian Copyright Office.
Designs
Our offerings
The term 'Design' encompasses elements of form, pattern, structure, embellishment, or arrangement of colors or lines. We understand the significance of preserving your unique industrial designs. Our commitment lies in safeguarding your innovative designs, ensuring their protection from unauthorized replication or misuse. Industrial designs encompass the visual appeal of products, and our dedicated measures and legal expertise are tailored to defend and uphold your design rights. Trust us to safeguard your industrial designs, allowing you to focus on driving innovation and setting your products apart in the market.
These aspects are applied in either two-dimensional or three-dimensional forms, utilizing various processes—manual, chemical, mechanical, separate, or combined. The ultimate article's visual appeal, subject to judgment by the eye, falls within the purview of the Design Act.
The Design Act serves as a safeguard for designs. It offers protection against the replication of new and original designs. By overseeing creative outputs, it prevents fraudulent activities that could unjustly strip credit from the original creator, originator, or artisan. An appealing design captures customer attention, thereby enhancing the commercial worth of a product and expanding its market potential. If you have created a unique design for your product or UI, we are a ping away to help you protect the same.
Valuation
Our offerings
Intellectual property is a tangible business asset whose economic worth must be understood before you license, sell, invest, or raise capital. We help clients quantify the value of patents, trade marks, designs, copyrights, and broader IP portfolios using approaches suited to the purpose of the assessment—whether for internal planning, M&A, joint ventures, litigation support, or monetization.
a) Portfolio & asset valuation We evaluate individual IP assets and portfolios in context: technology relevance, legal strength, market position, remaining life, and income potential. Our analysis connects prosecution quality and claim scope to commercial outcomes so valuation reflects protectable value, not paper counts alone.
b) Transaction & licensing support Clear valuation inputs strengthen negotiations for licensing, assignments, and collaborations. We work with your business and finance teams to align IP value with deal structure, royalty models, and strategic objectives.
c) Strategic & financial decision-making From R&D prioritization to divestitures and investor reporting, disciplined IP valuation supports smarter allocation of resources. Reach out if you need to understand, communicate, or unlock the true value of your intellectual property.
