The Legal 500 > Asia Pacific > India > TMT

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas counts global banking, technology, consumer goods and medical companies to its client list, providing the full range of TMT-related matters. The team recently supplied regulatory guidance on the establishment of e-commerce platforms, OTT streaming platforms, payment system companies and other emerging technologies. Data protection is a particularly strong point for the practice, having advised on compliance with the fast-moving legislative developments in that area. A number of production houses and media networks often approach the firm for advice on licensing, sponsorship and other agreements. The firm also cites niche regulatory knowledge in the fields of online gaming and interactive media. In a recent development, the firm acquired the media and entertainment practice of Ashni Parekh, who has joined as a senior adviser.

Nishith Desai Associates provides extensive regulatory advice to its TMT clients in sectors such as fintech, life sciences, gaming, e-commerce, telecoms and education technology. Gowree Gokhale is experienced with cutting-edge issues concerning net neutrality, content regulation, IT law and digital payment systems. The firm often handles cross-border technology transactions and contentious issues.

Trilegal is routinely praised by peers for its market-leading TMT offering, which provides legal expertise in cutting-edge sectors such as AI, machine learning, open-source technology and fintech. Practice head Rahul Matthan regularly advises on national privacy and data protection policy while Nikhil Narendran is a go-to name for telecoms regulatory expertise. The team handles complex issues surrounding market-entry exercises such as infrastructure-sharing agreements, licensing arrangements, outsourcing, alternative ISP models and content streaming provisions. Due diligence on corporate acquisitions and mergers in the telecoms and technology sectors is also a strong point.

Media and entertainment are sectors of focus for the TMT practice at ALMT Legal, with clients from the music, motion picture, television, sports, radio, digital media, publishing and theatre industries. Routine instructions involve drafting artist agreements, recording contracts, co-production agreements, content licensing arrangements and product development agreements. The firm also lends its telecoms regulatory expertise to commercial transactions in the sector.

AZB & Partners leverages its deep M&A practice to handle transactions in the telecoms, e-commerce, IT and software sectors, with the team providing advice and regulatory support unique to each sector. Multinational telecoms operators, media houses, e-commerce players and fintech clients also instruct the team on commercial contracting matters, corporate restructurings, electronic payment regulations and data privacy laws. The team also fields expertise with sports sponsorship matters.

Stand-out fields of expertise for HSA Advocates’ TMT practice include the provision of supply and service contracts in the telecoms sector, licensing and distribution arrangements in the entertainment sector and industry-specific regulatory advice on M&A transactions in the software space. Kunal Badyal has particular expertise with structuring and negotiating film distribution agreements; typical work involves (among others) licensing and broadcasting agreements, actor engagement contracts, distribution agreements and celebrity rights issues. In addition to handling cross-border reorganisations and acquisitions for TMT clients, Bharat Sharma is also experienced with handing ASCI complaints.

A strong transactional offering from J Sagar Associates’ TMT practice (headed by Delhi-based Amit Kapur and Bangalore-based Sajai Singh) handles high-value M&A’s, private equity investments and joint ventures in sectors such as e-commerce, telecoms, disruptive technologies and online food delivery. The team assists startups and established IT companies with developing their business platforms and operations in compliance with Indian laws and regulations governing the provision of broadcasting, digital communications, software services and other intricate ventures. Probir Roy Chowdhury was praised as a go-to name in the fintech space.

Practitioners across Khaitan & Co.'s multiple offices, such as Ganesh Prasad in Bangalore and Rahul Dutt in Mumbai, leverage their strong M&A practice to handle big-ticket transactions in the TMT space, advising on the complex regulations specific to the sector. The extensive client list comprises household-name multinational and Indian corporates, as well as a healthy list of tech startups. Delhi-based Harsh Walia provides strong regulatory expertise in the complex fields of IT, fintech, media, e-commerce, data centre services, digital payment systems and telecoms infrastructure.

The client list of Majmudar & Partners’ TMT practice comprises both entrepreneurial and established names in sectors including fintech, online gaming, digital marketing, e-commerce and AI. On the transactional front, the firm handles acquihires, joint ventures, outsourcing regimes, strategic investment and technology transfers. Recent regulatory work involved data privacy compliance, online payments advice, software licensing and distribution agreements, online terms and conditions, and critical issues pertaining to encryption, cloud computing and data storage, the latter of which N. Raja Sujith is a leading name in the market.

Noteworthy recent work for Mani Chengappa & Mathur’s TMT practice involved assisting with implementation and procurement initiatives in the financial services sector. The team has strong expertise in capital raising exercises for tech startup companies as well as conducting due diligence for international sponsors providing inward investment. Further routine mandates involve drafting product licensing agreements and services contracts, advising on data privacy laws and providing general regulatory expertise.

Since its inception in 2016, Spice Route Legal has developed its TMT practice and now counts a healthy mix of Indian startups and international names to the client roster. Recent mandates for practice head Mathew Chacko involved advising on data privacy laws (including niche work surrounding facial recognition technology), VoD licensing agreements, P2P product launches, a corporate inversion for a drone company and a number of fundraising ventures for tech startup companies.

Bharucha & Partners is a growing name in the media and entertainment space, and now counts a number of prominent domestic media houses, broadcasters, digital entertainment and distributors to its client list. Led by Kaushik Moitra, the team advises on content acquisition, contractual agreements, licensing and contract disputes. Market entry for telecoms and OTT platforms are other developing fields for the firm.

Legal-Advaita handles a range of transactions and disputes in the TMT space. Previous practice head Atul Dua has left the firm to establish an independent practice.

The transactional side of Link Legal – India Law Services’s TMT vertical involves handling complex M&A transactions and private equity investments for e-commerce, telecoms, broadcasting and online gaming clients.The team also frequently acts on TMT-related disputes, with number of recent actions involving the regulations surrounding passive telecoms infrastructure.

Samvad Partners' TMT practice includes a robust fintech offering which provides transactional advice to international private equity and venture capital groups investing in fintech startups. The firm has a growing client list of telecoms and software services clients for which the team provides regulatory support for operations in the Indian market, assistance with contractual negotiations and financial advice.

Rodney D Ryder of Scriboard’s TMT practice is a go-to name on the market for issues pertaining to the Information Technology Act, with recent advice concerning data protection, online risk management, regulatory compliance audits, cross-border data transfers and judicial information requests. The team provides expertise with domain name disputes and domain name recovery exercises for big-ticket global clients. A number of e-commerce clients also approach the firm for regulatory advice for their online operations.