As part of FICPI's celebration of World IP Day 2025, whose theme is “Celebrating the beat of IP in music”, we interviewed a number of FICPI members for whom music is dear to their professional and personal interests.
In the late 70’s and 80’s, Mohan had the privilege of working for the Indian music industry which was exhilarating but not without its risks. He is now the Principal of R K Dewan & Co in India and a Patent and Trademark Attorney and a Litigator.
Decades of experience of IP in music
Mohan explains, “I have conducted hundreds of anti-counterfeit actions against music piracy. I represented Polydor (now Music India) and HMV (now Saregama) against a host of music pirates who were making pirated cassettes and CDs.
“I have been involved in several cases of piracy against big and small music pirates but they were not without their dangers and even led to veiled threats of death.”
In the current decade, he believes artificial intelligence will have a profound effect on music creators.
Mohan commented, “AI will be able to use notes, tempo and harmonics to create different types of music having different moods and played on any instrument and in any style.
“The current laws do not allow such music creations to be protected under any form of IP and I believe that this aspect must change. This change will come and must come before it is too late.”
Music is central to Mohan's personal and professional life
Currently, Mohan represents T-Series which produces film and non-film music, representing them for their various activities in relation to branding and copyright.
Music is central to Mohan’s personal life too: he is a pianist and plays the keyboard as a hobby. But beyond that, he appreciates all types of music, especially western and Indian classical and even has ability to play music by ear.
He added, “Being a protector of music and dealing in copyright, music affects me professionally and personally. It’s this love of music that made me want to get involved in the protection of IP rights for musicians.”
Mohan has many fond memories of music over his 75 years.
He says, “I can still remember the tunes of lullabies that my mother sang to me and I also remember all the music that I created and replicated during my young days.”
He still plays some of those tunes today and has a fondness for yesteryear where he found much more melodious originality than is in music today.
Mohan continues to lead R K Dewan & Co, with the firm thriving since its inception in 1942, now delivering legal services to clients internationally across all sectors of industry and technology.
Next steps
- If you are interested in getting involved with FICPI's committees and working parties, find out more at: https://ficpi.org/organisation/committees
- If you're not yet a FICPI member, apply using our current accelerated process, in time to join us at the FICPI World Congress in Naples, Italy in October 2025.
