Welcome back to another week of Bells & Whistles.
This week, we’re ringing two bells.
One for Suman Sahai, whose work reminds us that conversations around innovation, biodiversity, and intellectual property are ultimately conversations about people, livelihoods, and the public interest.
And another for Dexin (sponsored), a new AI-powered trademark management platform seeking to make trademark practice more accessible by reducing the administrative burden that often accompanies portfolio management, monitoring and enforcement.
As always, we’ve also brought together a selection of events and opportunities from across the IP ecosystem for the week ahead.
Happy reading!
Bell of the Week: Suman Sahai
Some bells do not just chime, they broaden the conversation.
This week’s first bell is for Suman Sahai, whose work has helped shape important discussions around biodiversity, farmers’ rights, biotechnology and the relationship between innovation and public interest in India.
Intellectual property conversations often gravitate towards patents, trademarks and copyright disputes. Yet some of the most consequential questions arise elsewhere: Who benefits from innovation? How should legal systems respond to traditional knowledge and biodiversity? And how can scientific advancement coexist with the interests of farming communities and local ecosystems?
Through her work, including the establishment of the Gene Campaign, Sahai brought many of these questions into public and policy discourse. At a time when India was grappling with issues relating to plant variety protection, biotechnology, and the future of agriculture, she consistently advocated for approaches that recognised both innovation and equity.
What makes her contribution particularly noteworthy is that it challenged the tendency to view intellectual property solely through the lens of markets and ownership. Instead, it highlighted the broader social, environmental and developmental contexts within which systems of protection operate.
It reminds us that intellectual property does not exist in isolation. It intersects with agriculture, science, environment and society and the people who help us see those connections often leave a lasting mark on the landscape.
Some bells do not just chime, they expand the questions worth asking.
You can find her thoughts on her blog, here.
Bell of the Week: DEXIN [Sponsored]
Some challenges in intellectual property practice are legal. Others are administrative.
For many trademark practitioners, a significant amount of time is spent not on strategy, client counselling, or legal analysis, but on the everyday mechanics of practice: tracking deadlines, monitoring journals, managing portfolios, keeping an eye on hearings and ensuring that nothing slips through the cracks.
Dexin, was built around a simple idea: trademark management software should be accessible, particularly for young practitioners and small or mid-sized firms seeking to grow their practice. Why should effective trademark portfolio management require expensive software subscriptions or long-term contractual commitments?
Dexin is built specifically for young trademark lawyers, CA and CS professionals, and for the small and mid-size firms who spend hours every week scanning journals, chasing deadlines, tracking hearing dates and managing hundreds, even thousands of trademarks in spreadsheets. These mundane, repetitive tasks are exactly what pull practitioners away from the work that actually matters: the deep, nuanced legal thinking and close client attention that lead to more and better filings and ultimately to a stronger Indian trademark system.
That’s the shift Dexin is here to make. Their goal is to help you run your trademark practice on autopilot with advanced, world-class trademark-management software backed by powerful AI tools that take the busywork off your plate.
Once you sign up for a free account, you can add your agent/attorney/proprietor code(s) in the My profile section and get started right away. After you’ve added your codes, your portfolio loads instantly and you get visual dashboards, a calendar and table view of all deadlines and hearings, and an IP India queue tracker that shows the examination, MISR or hearing queue.
Users get unlimited searches across 76 lakh+ trademarks — by word, class, journal, proprietor, agent, attorney, goods & services and more. You can also export any search as an Excel or PDF carrying your own law firm logo, and do the same with your watch results. Users also get Dex-Watch including weekly journal watch, daily filing watch, Word watch, Proprietor watch, Agent watch and Attorney watch and emails you the moment something matches. A few other things come with every account, also free: hearings are tracked automatically (TLA, opposition and formal hearings) with the virtual hearing link sent to you via email within minutes of being published. There are AI tools to draft examination-report replies and generate brandable trademarks, with 100 free credits every month.
Finally, you can share trademark status, documents, hearings and deadlines through WhatsApp or email at no cost with your clients or colleagues.
If any of this sounds useful, you can create a free account in under a minute at https://dexin.in/signUp/ and set up your portfolio straight away. And if you’d prefer a quick walkthrough first, just message them on WhatsApp at 7876741299.
EVENTS
1. Webinar: African Green Innovation – Leveraging the WIPO GREEN Platform for Sustainable Solutions
10 June 2026 | 14:00–15:30 (Geneva Time) | Online
The World Intellectual Property Organization will host the African Green Innovation Webinar: Leveraging the WIPO GREEN Platform for Sustainable Solutions, highlighting the role of innovation and intellectual property in addressing sustainability challenges across Africa. The session will showcase African green innovators and climate-smart technologies tackling issues in key sectors such as agriculture, energy, water, and waste management, while demonstrating how the WIPO GREEN platform can support technology exchange, partnerships, and the diffusion of sustainable solutions.
More info
2. Webinar: International Design Protection for SMEs | European Commission IP Helpdesk & WIPO
10 June 2026 | 17:00–18:00 (Geneva Time) | Online
The European Commission IP Helpdesk and the World Intellectual Property Organization are jointly hosting a webinar on international design protection for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The session will provide practical guidance on protecting designs across multiple jurisdictions, covering the main international registration routes, the advantages of using the Hague System for streamlined multi-country protection, and the support resources available to businesses. Drawing on both regional and international expertise, the webinar aims to help SMEs develop effective strategies for securing and managing design rights in global markets.
More info
OPPORTUNITIES
1. Academic Fellows (2026–28) | Jindal Global Law School
Application Deadline: 15 June 2026
Jindal Global Law School, part of O.P. Jindal Global University, is inviting applications for its Academic Fellows Programme (2026–28). This two-year, full-time fellowship is designed for outstanding postgraduates in law and allied disciplines who are interested in pursuing careers in academia and research. Fellows will work closely with JGLS faculty across a range of legal and interdisciplinary fields while gaining experience in teaching, curriculum design, research methodology, academic writing, academic administration, and policy engagement, supported by structured mentorship and professional development opportunities.
More info
2. AHSS Global Fellowship | Queen’s University Belfast
Application Deadline: 26 June 2026 (for Autumn Semester 2026–27 visits)
Queen’s University Belfast is inviting applications for its AHSS Global Fellowship, offering international researchers the opportunity to undertake a 4–12 week research visit during the Autumn or Spring Semesters of the 2026–27 academic year. Fellows are expected to develop a research collaboration with a member of Queen’s academic staff and must secure a host sponsor within the University before submitting an expression of interest. Successful applicants will receive funding of up to £4,000 to cover travel and accommodation expenses, enabling engagement with the University’s research community and collaborative projects.
More info
3. Postdoctoral Fellowship in Law and Technology | UBC Allard School of Law
Application Deadline: 18 September 2026
Peter A. Allard School of Law is inviting applications for a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Law and Technology, funded by the Program on Technology, Law and Society (PTLS). The fellowship is tenable for two years and offers an annual salary of CAD 90,000 plus benefits. The programme provides an opportunity for early-career scholars to pursue research at the intersection of law, technology, and society within a leading interdisciplinary research environment.
More info
Thanks to Niharika, Lokesh and Swaraj for the leads!
All non-sponsored listings featured here are events or opportunities free or nominally charged and ones we think our readers may be interested in. Sponsored listings will be marked as such. Unless specifically mentioned, SpicyIP has no affiliation to anything listed here. Know of an event worth sharing? Write to us at contact[at]spicyip[dot]com.