A Law in Common: India and the United States

The Office of the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) most recent Special 301 report continued to identify India as “one of the world’s most challenging major economies with respect to protection and enforcement of IP.” The USTR has long argued that India fails to provide adequate patent protection and enforcement. What exactly are the USTR’s objections? How does this impact India’s trade relations with the United States? Expert guest Professor Srividhya Ragavan, Professor of Law and Director of International Programs at Texas A&M University School of Law will shed light on these and other questions.

California sued Cisco alleging that two employees who migrated from India discriminated against another employee on the basis of caste. While some members of the South Asian-American community claim caste should be a protected category in the United States others claim that doing adding it as a protected category stigmatizes all Hindus. Another way in which caste has become part of the national conversation is as way to understand the oppression of Black Americans. In this episode, we will explore the roots of caste prejudice and discrimination in India and discuss the robust protections exist in the Indian constitution and other law for Dalits. Should the same laws that prohibit caste-based discrimination in India also be adopted in the United States? Is caste an appropriate metaphor for the discrimination faced by Black Americans? These are among the questions Sital Kalantry, a professor at Seattle University School of Law, Aziz Rana, Cornell Law School professor, Anurag Bhaskar a professor at Jindal Global Law School will tackle in this episode. If you are interested in exploring this topic further, click here for some recommended readings.

Listen to the trailer of an episode on caste in the United States for the podcast A Law in Common. Host Sital Kalantry, Seattle University School of Law, is joined by guests Aziz Rana, Cornell Law School, and Anurag Bhaskar, Jindal Global Law School.

Seattle University School of Law’s Professor Sital Kalantry and attorney Nidhi Desai at the family law firm of Desai & Miller in Chicago, Illinois, join us for an episode on surrogacy laws in India and the United States. Surrogacy laws implicate both personal and public domains and have implications for marginalized communities both nationally and across international borders. Join us for an enlightening discussion of the laws and ethical issues surrounding surrogacy in India and the United States.

Cornell Law School's Sital Kalantry and Mary John at the Center for Women's Development Studies in New Delhi join us for an incredibly interesting episode on sex-selective abortion in India and the United States. We talk about the practice's prevalence in both countries, the laws against it, the need for changing attitudes, and the roadmap going forward.

Cornell Law School's Professor Dan Awrey and University of Michigan Law School's Vic Khanna join us to discuss financial markets (or as our guests call it, the broader financial system) in both countries. We discuss the history of financial markets in both countries, the need for a robust financial system, the current legal framework, the challenges facing both countries, and the systemic response to adverse shocks like COVID and demonetization. This is Part II of a two-part series on the financial system. Part I was out last week!

Cornell Law School's Professor Dan Awrey and University of Michigan Law School's Vic Khanna join us to discuss financial markets (or as our guests call it, the broader financial system) in both countries. We discuss the history of financial markets in both countries, the need for a robust financial system, the current legal framework, the challenges facing both countries, and the systemic response to adverse shocks like COVID and demonetization. This episode also includes Professor Awrey's brief comparison of the American, Canadian, and British driver's tests. You may guess which one he liked the best. This is Part I of a two-part series on the financial system. Part II will be out next week!

Adam Feibelman, Renuka Sané, and Bhargavi Zaveri join us to discuss American and Indian bankruptcy. We demystify this innovative legal tool, discuss how both countries look at bankruptcy, and dive deep into India's new bankruptcy reforms enacted in 2016.

The Stimson Center's Seema Gahlaut joins us to discuss India’s historical and contemporary role in the international nuclear order, the impact of nuclear nonproliferation on the Indo-US relationship, and the future of nuclear weapons.

Cornell Law School's Sandra Babcock and Jindal Global Law School's Khagesh Gautam join us for an episode on the death penalty in India and the United States. More than a 100 countries have abolished the death penalty. Both India and the United States are not on that list. We discuss the state of the death penalty today, cover some contemporary debates, and ask the most important question: Do we even need it? Follow the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide to learn more!

Professor Richard Pierce of George Washington University Law School joins us for an episode on the antitrust laws in India and the United States. We talk about the history of antitrust law, its current form in the United States, some of its problems, and how India has borrowed from the US and developed its own regime.

The Atlantic Council's Justin Sherman joins us for an episode on data privacy in India and the United States. We cover the data privacy legal framework and civil liberty concerns in both countries. We also talk about contact-tracing apps, internet shutdowns in India, the Chinese app ban in India, the Huawei 5G ban in the US, and MORE!

Cornell Law School Professor Nelson Tebbe and Dr. Abhinav Chandrachud, author and advocate at the Bombay High Court, join us for an episode on religious freedom in India and the United States. We discuss both countries' constitutional history with religion, including how the United States Constitution informed India's. We also cover the Citizenship Amendment Act, the Muslim travel ban, and venture onto some interesting tangents!

A Law in Common: India and the United States is launching soon. Please subscribe to this podcast! This podcast is brought to you by the Cornell India Law Center and Cornell Law School.