Ananyaa Banerjee: Notable Practitioner in Managing IP Rankings 2026 – S.S. Rana & Co.

Managing IP has recognised Ananyaa Banerjee, Associate Partner at S.S. Rana & Co., in its IP STARS 2026 rankings for India as a Notable Practitioner. The recognition reflects her trademark opposition, cancellation and enforcement work: she leads the firm’s Opposition Team and has handled more than 1,000 opposition matters before the Trade Marks Registry for Indian and international brand owners.

About IP STARS

IP STARS is the rankings publication of Managing IP, which forms part of Legal Benchmarking Limited in London. Managing IP published its first legal directory in 1994 and rebranded it as IP STARS in 2013, and its research now covers more than 70 jurisdictions. Its analysts in London, New York and Hong Kong gather information from firms, practitioners and their clients through interviews, emails and online surveys, and supplement it with their own research, including publicly available court and IP office data.

Managing IP states that there is no fee to participate, that no firm or individual can pay to be ranked, that taking part does not guarantee a ranking, that practitioners may be ranked on independent research alone, and that the rankings are not influenced by its awards programme. All rankings are subject to change each year.

The full methodology is published on the IP STARS Methodology and Resources page.

How Managing IP ranks practitioners

The research for each IP STARS edition begins in September. Managing IP publishes the following research timeline, which it notes may change from year to year:

Managing IP normally begins publishing the rankings for the year in March, and publishes or updates its firm reviews from 30 September.

Where the information comes from – Managing IP selects individuals using information from firm submissions, practitioner surveys, research interviews and its own independent research. Client referees nominated by firms are contacted directly, and Managing IP states that all feedback is validated and its sources are never revealed.

How individuals are ranked – Practitioner rankings are very selective, and not every IP practitioner is ranked. Analysts can rank a practitioner using their own independent research alone, and a ranking in a previous edition does not guarantee a ranking in the next.

Independence – Firms and individuals can pay to publish a practice profile, but Managing IP states that the rankings are not influenced by any commercial relationship, including advertising, with Managing IP or IP STARS.

What is a Notable Practitioner?

Managing IP recognises individuals in three main categories: IP Stars, who are practitioners in private practice at partner level or equivalent; Corporate IP Stars, who are in-house IP counsel; and Rising Stars, who are private-practice practitioners below partner level. IP Stars are then tagged by their key practice area, such as Trademark Star or Patent Star.

The Notable Practitioner tag was introduced in October 2020 to recognise noteworthy practitioners, especially partners and former partners, who are not currently ranked as IP Stars. Managing IP can add a Notable Practitioner at any point in the year on the strength of its research. It is a recognition in its own right, distinct from the “Unranked” tag Managing IP uses for individuals it lists only for research purposes.

What the 2026 recognition reflects

Ananyaa Banerjee has been part of S.S. Rana & Co.’s IP team for more than eight years and leads the firm’s Opposition Team. Her practice spans IP prosecution and enforcement, and she advises on both contentious and non-contentious matters, including trademark and copyright oppositions and cancellations and legal opinions on prosecution and enforcement strategy.

Trademark oppositions at scale – She has handled more than 1,000 opposition matters for clients before the Trade Marks Registry. Oppositions are often the first line of defence for a brand in India, and running them at this volume calls for disciplined docketing, sound evidence strategy and close coordination with clients and foreign counsel.

Cancellation and rectification – She has appeared in cancellation proceedings against trademarks before the IP Division Bench of the High Court of Delhi, and earlier handled matters before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board, whose jurisdiction passed to the High Courts in 2021.

Cross-border enforcement – She handles complex trademark enforcement matters for a number of Fortune 500 companies in India, the SAARC countries, the European Union and other Asian jurisdictions.

What clients say – In the 2026 client feedback published on the firm’s IP STARS profile, clients single out her responsiveness and her ability to move matters forward quickly. They describe her advice as clear, well structured and practical, which lets them assess a situation and report to their own clients with confidence, and they note the precision of her analyses and the thoroughness of her trademark searches and risk assessments.

Professional engagement – She is a member of the International Bar Association (IBA), the International Trademark Association (INTA), the Pharmaceutical Trade Marks Group (PTMG) and MARQUES, and regularly attends international IP conferences.

Her directory profile is available on IP STARS.

Independent recognition across the firm in 2026

The IP STARS listing sits alongside other independent assessments of S.S. Rana & Co. in the same cycle:

Each recognition is recorded on our Awards page.

Reading IP rankings when choosing counsel in India

Directory rankings are most useful when read closely rather than counted. Five questions help separate a strong fit from a strong brand:

1. Which practice area is ranked?
   Trademark prosecution, trademark enforcement, patent prosecution and patent litigation are assessed separately, and firms often rank very differently across them.
2. Is the firm ranked, the individual, or both?
   A firm-level ranking speaks to team depth; an individual listing speaks to the practitioner who will lead the matter.
3. Is the recognition consistent?
   Repeated listings over several years, and across more than one independent directory, are a better signal than a single entry.
4. How was the research done?
   Check whether the directory is free to enter and whether it relies on client feedback as well as firm submissions.
5. Does the ranked work match your matter?
   High-volume opposition work before the Trade Marks Registry, cancellation actions before the High Court and urgent injunctive relief call for different capabilities.

We congratulate Ananyaa on this well-deserved recognition and thank our clients, colleagues and peers for their continued trust.

View the official listing on IP STARS and our coverage on LinkedIn.

Frequently Asked Questions

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