How mediation turned counterfeiter into collaborator: Supreme Court Justice Manmohan explains

Supreme Court judge Justice Manmohan on Saturday said that mediation can not only resolve disputes, but can also create unexpected partnerships, as he recounted a trademark case that ended in commercial collaboration rather than litigation..He spoke of a case where a global jeans brand had sued a small Indian manufacturer for counterfeiting. While an injunction was granted, the Court also referred the matter to mediation. During the process, something unexpected emerged.“It turned out that the defendant was producing excellent quality jeans. The brand, which had been struggling to find a reliable supplier, ended up appointing the defendant as its official manufacturer," Justice Manmohan said..He called the case a testament to the transformative potential of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), especially under India’s new Mediation Act. “From counterfeiter to collaborator—that is the power of ADR,” he remarked..The apex court judge was delivering the keynote address as Chief Guest at a conference titled India’s Legal and Regulatory Framework: Navigating International Trade Opportunities, jointly organised by the Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC), the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) and the Indian National Association of Legal Professionals (INALP)..Justice Manmohan underscored the need to adapt dispute resolution strategies to keep pace with cross-border commerce and technological complexity. In particular, he focused on standard essential patents (SEPs)—technologies embedded in everyday devices like smartphones.“Every phone today contains about 3,000 to 4,000 patents...These phones use standardised technology so they can work seamlessly across India, China, the US,anywhere.” He questioned whether royalty disputes over SEPs should be settled country by country or under a uniform global framework, adding:“Our mechanisms for resolving international disputes need a significant overhaul.”Justice Manmohan also addressed legal complexities in infrastructure M&A, ESG compliance, FinTech innovation and AI regulation. Quoting a senior lawyer, he likened complex mergers to “a symphony where every musician plays a different national anthem,” and stressed the importance of legal harmonisation in cross-border transactions..On artificial intelligence, he said,“AI is like a brilliant but unpredictable teenager—full of potential, but still learning the rules.” Data privacy and cybersecurity, he emphasized, must become pillars of India’s digital trade architecture. He also reiterated that a robust rule of law and a predictable legal system are essential to global investor confidence..In his welcome address,SILF President Lalit Bhasin said that India must position itself as a global hub for legal services, supported by reforms such as the Mediation Act and greater legal diplomacy. “The dispute resolution mechanism in India, which is far from satisfactory, was also discussed and the recent steps taken by the Government of India to promote mediation were welcomed. It was also felt that there is an immediate need to liberalise India's legal market by deleting stringent conditions regarding advertising, etc.”.A key highlight of the event was the awards presentation ceremony, where Justice Manmohan felicitated the following legal professionals:.General CounselZubin Masani (Air India)Lalit Prabhakar (Mother Dairy)Rajesh Jha (Reckitt India)Nitin Asthana (Air India Engineering Services)Sachin Mishra (Tata Consulting Engineers)Amber Gupta (NSE India)Law firm lawyersAmeet Naik (Anand and Naik)Alok Kumar (THS – The Law Firm)Rajesh Narain Gupta (SNG and Partners)Aditya Bharech (Zon Legal)Sudhir Kumar (India International Jurists)Vaibhav Shahi (Maestro Legal LLP)Sonal Verma (Dhir and Dhir Associates)Sidhartha Sharma (Sharma and Sharma Advocates LLP)Sudhir Mishra (Trust Legal)Manoj Singh (S&A Law Offices LLP)Shweta Bharti (Hammurabi and Solomon)Legal academiaDr. Avinash Dadhich (DAIICT)Dr. Pournima Inamdar (MIT WPU, Pune)Dr. Atul Chauhan (Amity University, Noida)Prof. Ashish Bharadwaj (BITS Law School, Mumbai)Dr. Vaishali Arora (Sharda University).Litigation lawyersSidharth Luthra, Senior AdvocateAmit Kapur (JSA)Aditya Kumar Choudhary (Supreme Court)Nina Gupta, Advocate and Mediator, Supreme Court Gender Sensitisation Committee