Papers by Satyajeet Mazumdar
Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies, 2006
The intersection between competition law and intellectual property has been a contentious issue s... more The intersection between competition law and intellectual property has been a contentious issue since the very beginnings of European Communities (EC) competition law. Both intellectual property and competition law pursue the aim of enhancing economic welfare and innovation, but their direct objectives seem to be in conflict. Whereas intellectual property focuses on the reward of inventive effort and the inventor’s incentives to innovate by conferring an exclusive right on the use of the invention, competition law emphasises the dissemination of innovation by ensuring diffusion and access.
From 2010 to 2012, a team of academic and civil society researchers conducted extensive ethnograp... more From 2010 to 2012, a team of academic and civil society researchers conducted extensive ethnographies of litigants, judges, lawyers, and courtroom personnel within multiple districts in three states: Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Himachal Pradesh. This Article provides an in-depth account of the everyday struggles these actors face in the pursuit of their respective objectives. The findings illustrate a complex matrix of variables-including infrastructure, staffing, judicial training and legal awareness, costs and continuances, gender and caste discrimination, power imbalances, intimidation and corruption, miscellaneous delays, and challenges with specialized forums-impact access to justice in the lower tier. The results of this study offer competing yet complementary narratives. On one hand, there is immense despair, frustration, and anger among the various sets of respondents about the current state of the lower tier. At the same time, however, there is great hope and optimism among individuals who work in the judicial sphere, as well as litigants desperately seeking to gain relief from long-endured grievances, toward what the lower tier
How do courts at the grassroots level in India approach and address economic and other civil liti... more How do courts at the grassroots level in India approach and address economic and other civil litigation cases brought by litigants? During 2010, 2011, and 2012, a team of researchers from academia and civil society organizations conducted extensive ethnographies of litigants, judges, lawyers, and courtroom personnel within multiple districts in three states: Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Maharashtra. The research below provides an indepth account of the everyday struggles these actors face in the pursuit of their respective objectives. As the findings suggest, there exists a complex matrix of variables that affect: whether lawsuits are filed in the first place; how they are handled once in a legal forum; what legal strategies lawyers employ when litigation occurs; and how cases are adjudicated by judges. The results of this study offer competing, yet also complimentary, narratives. On the one hand, there is immense despair, frustration, and anger among the various sets of respondents on the current state of legal life at the grassroots level. At the same time, however, there is a surprising level of hope and optimism towards what the law and the lower courts can potentially-and at times do-offer. We find that this sentiment is held by both those individuals who work in the legal sphere, but also by litigants desperately seeking to gain relief from long-endured grievances. National Law University (Ahmedabad, India). We are also indebted to the High Courts of Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Bombay. Finally, we are profoundly grateful to the 1,176 respondents (lawyers, judges, court personnel and litigants) from whom we learned so much over these past three years. Out of respect for these individuals, we have protected their identities and provided them with the anonymity that they requested.
Uploads
Papers by Satyajeet Mazumdar