Finalists for the 15th Oxford International IP Moot Court Announced
The Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre will host the 15th Annual Oxford International Intellectual Property Moot on March 16th – 18th, 2017.
This year’s moot had another record number of entrants. A total of 59 submissions were received from twenty-one countries around the world, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Switzerland, the USA, and throughout the United Kingdom. Twenty-four teams have been invited to participate in the oral phase of the competition. This year’s moot problem revolves around the issue of (1) the validity of the claimant Whispering Gums Winery’s patent on a bottle that enhances the effervescence of sparkling wines, and (2) whether use of the word “Erewine” by the defendant Loddon River Vineyards to describe its elderflower, non-alcoholic, drink constitutes extended passing off. Teams will be arguing in front of the Supreme Court of Erewhon, the apex court of a fictional jurisdiction. All teams will be required to participate in four preliminary rounds over two days where they will make submissions as both the Appellant and Respondents. Eight teams will progress to the knock-out rounds. The panel for the Grand Final is traditionally composed of three eminent judges, known for their work in the field of Intellectual Property Law. Lord Justice Kitchin, Lord Justice Floyd, and Mr. Justice Birss have once again accepted our invitations to judge the Grand Final this year.
At the close of the preliminary rounds on Friday 17th March 2017, we will hold our annual IP Conversazione: an interactive speaker and dining event. This year’s Conversazione theme is “Wine and Sweet Words: IP and Identifying Drinks”. A panel of diverse speakers from within and outside the law will explore issues raised by the Moot problem. At dinner, speakers, panellists, mooters, moot judges, coaches, sponsors and other guests intermingle at assigned tables, and between courses representatives of the tables pose questions to the panel speakers.
We would like to thank all teams who made a submission this year. Due to the large number of submissions received, the competition had never been tougher.
We would like to congratulate the following teams who will be competing in the oral phase of the moot at Oxford:
Boston University School of Law, USA
Bucerius Law School, Germany
City University of London, UK
DePaul University College of Law, USA
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Jindal Global Law School, India
Monash University, Australia
National Law School of India University, Bangalore (NLSIU), India
National University of Singapore, Singapore
Osgoode Hall Law School, Canada
Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Singapore Management University, Singapore
Tsinghua University, China
University College London, UK
University of British Columbia, Canada
University of Cambridge, UK
University of Malaya, Malaysia
University of New South Wales, Australia
University of Otago, New Zealand
University of Oxford, UK
University of Technology Sydney, Australia
University of Toronto, Canada
University of Windsor, Canada
West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, India