Applications Wanted for Trademark Moot Court Competition
Are you interested in practicing trademark law or intellectual property law? Is patent law just not really your thing?
If so, you should consider applying to compete in the annual Saul Lefkowitz Trademark Moot Court Competition. Now in its 28th year, this is the only competition in the United States with a focus on trademark and unfair competition law. The competition gives students the chance to develop their brief writing and oral advocacy skills in a mock courtroom experience, and also to improve their mastery of this fascinating and important field of law.
The competition is open to teams of students from U.S. accredited law schools. Approximately 80 teams of law students participate in the competition each year. Teams can consist of two to four (2-4) team members.
Students are expected to:
- Write a brief reflecting the issues in the Fact Pattern/Problem.
- Argue the case in regional competitions before a panel of volunteer attorneys and judges from various district and other courts. Two winning teams from each region argue the case in a national competition before members of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
This year’s team will be co-coached by Professor Camilla Hrdyand Daniel Thomson, Partner at Emerson, Thomson Bennett. Students selected to form Akron Law’s 2-4 person team will work closely together to draft a set of briefs—one brief arguing each side of the case. Then team members will practice and prepare to each orally argue both sides of the case. Participating students are eligible to receive two (2) creditsfor their efforts.
Each Regional Competition takes place in February in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. Two teams from each of the regional competitions will advance to the National Finals in Washington, D.C. in March. Akron Law’s team will start off competing in Chicago, and then go on from there!
To apply, interested students must submit the following information via email to Professor Hrdy chrdy@uakron.edu by Monday, October 1. Applications must include:
(1) Your name, @zips.uakron email address, and year in law school;
(2) A copy of your resume;
(3) A list of all IP courses you have taken (or are currently taking) and your grades earned in each course (if available);
(4) A brief legal writing sample or except thereof (10 pages or fewer); and
(5) An optional one-page (300 words or fewer) explanation of why you are interested in this competition and why you should be selected for the team.
Prior trademark or intellectual property law coursework or related experience is preferred. It is also encouraged that you enroll simultaneously in trademark law and/or trade secret law this spring if you have not taken these courses already.
Please contact Professor Hrdy with any questions.
Trademark moot court Announcement
IMPORTANT DEADLINES AND COMPETITION DATES (2018-2019):
- Week of September 10 – Registration opens
- October 12, 5:00 pm U.S. Eastern Time – Registration closes
- January 4, 2019, 5:00 pm U.S. Eastern Time – Briefs and substitution of team members due
- February 9 – Regional Oral Argument Competitions (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles New York, San Francisco)
- March 16 – National Finals in Washington, D.C.
Note that no team member may hold a Juris Doctor (“J.D.”), Master of Laws (“LL.M.”) or other law degree from a U.S. law school. However, a law student pursuing a joint J.D. / LL.M. program may enter the Competition so long as the law student has not yet received a J.D. degree.
More on the competition can be found at:
https://www.inta.org/Academics/Pages/SaulLefkowitzCompetition.aspx
This year’s Problem and Exhibits can be found at:
https://www.inta.org/Academics/Documents/2018/2018-2019%20Lefkowitz%20Problem%20Final.pdf
Applications Wanted for Patent Moot Court Competition
Are you interested in practicing patent law or patent litigation? If so, you should consider applying to compete in the AIPLA Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition—the premier patent moot court in the United States. Two qualifying students will be selected to form a team of patent appellate advocates in this unique, fun, and challenging competition.
The Giles Rich competition simulates briefing and oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which is the exclusive federal patent appellate court. The moot court problem presents real cutting-edge patent law issues, and the judges include nationally-renowned patent litigators and actual Federal Circuit judges.
With the coaching of Professor Daniel Brean (himself an experienced Federal Circuit advocate) and the help of other local IP attorneys, students selected to form the 2-person team will work closely together to draft a set of briefs—one brief arguing each side of the case. Then both team members will practice and prepare to each orally argue both sides of the case. This dual-advocacy format provides unparalleled patent litigation training and experience. And in addition to the outstanding educational, networking, and resume-boosting value of this competition, participating students are eligible to receive two (2) creditsfor their efforts.
The 2019 problem and competition details will be announced by early November. Briefs are typically due in late January, with the oral arguments being held in March in Chicago, IL (and again in in Washington, DC in April for teams that advance from the regional to the national competition). Note that eligibility to travel to the regional and national competitions is contingent on the quality of the team’s performance through the briefing phase of the competition.
To apply, interested students must submit the following information via email to Professor Brean (dbrean@uakron.edu)by Monday, October 1. Applications must include:
(1) Your name, @zips.uakron email address, and year in law school;
(2) A copy of your current resume;
(3) A list of IP courses you have taken (or are currently taking) and your grades earned in each course (if available);
(4) Your LARW grade;
(5) A brief legal writing sample or except thereof (10 pages or fewer); and
(6) An optionalone-page (300 words or fewer) explanation of why you are interested in this competition and why you should be selected for the team.
Because of the patent-centric nature of the Giles Rich competition, prior patent law coursework or related experience is strongly preferred. Prior coursework or experience in federal courts and/or appellate advocacy is also a plus.
More information about the competition, including last year’s problem and rules, is available at the AIPLA website: https://www.aipla.org/resources2/programs/Pages/Moot-Court-Competition.aspx. Please contact Professor Brean with any questions.