NLS Students Win Top Prizes in the 2024 Shamnad Basheer Essay Competition on IP Law
May 28, 2025
Fourth-year NLS students, Yogesh Byadwal and Kartik Sharma, bagged the first and second prize respectively in the 2024 edition of the Shamnad Basheer Essay Competition on Intellectual Property Law.
The essay competition was organised by the blogging site SpicyIP in honour of its founder, Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer, in his 48th birth anniversary year.
Winners
The First Prize
Yogesh Byadwal (NLS BA LLB 2026) for the essay titled, “What Applies to You, Does Not Apply to Me: The Hypocrisy of Companies Owning ML Systems.” The essay is available here.
Speaking to us, Yogesh said:
“I am truly honoured to have won this essay competition- one that is dedicated to honour the legacy of Late Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer. I am grateful to Prof. (Dr.) Arul George Scaria [Professor of Law and Co-Director, Centre for IP Research and Advocacy (CIPRA), NLSIU] and the incredible team at SpicyIP for their constant support and inspiration. I hope to carry forward the values that Prof. Basheer so passionately lived by—intellectual fearlessness, unwavering integrity and ever-encompassing compassion.”
The Second Prize
Kartik Sharma (NLS BA LLB 2026) for the essay titled “What’s in a Name? Critiquing The Copyright Owner’s Backdoor into the House of Copyright Society.” The essay is available here.
Speaking to us, Kartik said:
“I had first come to know about the competition when I started exploring the field of IP law around the end of my first year. Back then, I had vague plans of participating in the competition someday. And now, being the second prize winner in it is a moment of great honour for me. The work on this essay was a long-drawn process over a couple of months, beginning from the CopyrightX course I had taken under the guidance of Prof. (Dr.) Scaria where I had the chance to be a part of several illuminating and foundational discussions on the subject. I am extremely thankful to the esteemed panel of judges and the SpicyIP team for finding value in my essay. A big note of gratitude to all the scholars whose works have developed and sustained my interest in the field of Intellectual Property Law, including late Prof. (Dr.) Basheer to whose monumental legacy this competition is dedicated. I hope to continue to learn more and contribute to IP law to the best I can, including by contributing to SpicyIP!”
About SpicyIP
SpicyIP is an Indian blog/repository on intellectual property (IP) and innovation law/policy. It was founded in 2005 by Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer, an IP academic and consultant.