Kalyan Chakravarthy Kankanala

Kalyan attended Loyola Public School near Guntur, India, after which he went to a medical school. A genetic eye disorder characterized by progressive loss of vision, forced him to pull out of the medical course, following which he decided to pursue law. He holds a Bachelor in Law degree from Osmania University and a masters in intellectual property law degree at the Franklin Pierce Law Center. He obtained a doctorate in patent law, with specialization in genomics, from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore.[2]

Kalyan started his writing career with his first book, Genetic Patent Law and Strategy, and later wrote Indian Patent Law and Practice, and wrote Indian Patent Law and Practice, published by the Oxford University Press.[3]

Subsequently he ventured into legal fiction. His first fiction novel, Road Humps and Sidewalks,[4] was a legal thriller about pharmaceutical drugs, patents and healthcare, all highly debated topics in the Indian context. Kalyan's second legal thriller, Pirates of Bollywood, premised on film production, piracy and organized crime, released on 1 January 2015. He releases audio versions of his literary works for the benefit of the visually challenged.[5]

Kalyan is currently the managing partner, Chief IP Attorney of an IP firm he founded,[6] BananaIP Counsels,[7][8] Headquartered in Bangalore, India. He consults for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO),[9] and also teaches IP courses at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, as well as the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore[10]. Dr. Kalyan has been instrumental in getting accessibility guidelines issued by the Indian Intellectual Property Office.[11]