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Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition




TO UPLOAD YOUR BRIEFS FOR THE 2018-2019 COMPETITION PLEASE REFER TO THE CONFIRMATION EMAIL THAT WAS RECEIVED UPON REGISTRATION. BRIEFS ARE DUE ON JANUARY 4, 2019 by 5:00 PM ET. 


The Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition is an annual event honoring Saul Lefkowitz, whose entire distinguished career was dedicated to the development of trademark and unfair competition law.   

The competition introduces law students to important issues arising in U.S. trademark and unfair competition law. Students develop their brief writing and oral advocacy skills in a mock courtroom experience.

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.

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, and 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.

The 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.
  
 

 Competition Material and Important Dates

 
2018–2019 Competition Materials
Dates for 2018–2019 Competition  
  • 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.
 

 2017-2018 Lefkowtiz Moot Court Competition Winners

 
The National Finals winners are:
  • Winning Team: Chicago-Kent College of Law, IIT (Brittany Kaplan and Evan Kline-Wedeen) 
  • Second Place Team: University of California Berkeley School of Law (Thao Thai and Kelsey Schuetz) 
  • Dolores K. Hanna Best Brief Award: University of California Berkeley School of Law 
  • Second Place Brief: Chicago-Kent College of Law, IIT (Brittany Kaplan and Evan Kline-Wedeen)
  • Best Oral Argument: Chicago-Kent College of Law, IIT (Brittany Kaplan and Evan Kline-Wedeen)
  • Second Place Oral Argument Team: University of California Los Angeles School of Law (Aidan Welsh and Julia Markham-Cameron) 
Regional Award Winners:

New York: 
  • Georgetown University Law Center
  • University of Maine School of Law 

Chicago: 
  • Chicago-Kent College of Law, IIT
  • Notre Dame Law School 

Atlanta:
  • Georgia State University College of Law 
  • Georgia State University College of Law 

Dallas:
  • University of Oklahoma College of Law
  • SMU Dedman School of Law 

San Francisco: 
  • University of California Berkeley School of Law 
  • University of California Hasting College of Law 

Los Angeles: 
  • Pepperdine University School  of Law 
  • University of California Los Angeles School of Law  
 

 2016-2017 Lefkowtiz Moot Court Competition Winners

 
 

 2015-2016 Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition Winners

 
 

 2014-2015 Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition Winners

 
 

 Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition FAQs

 
1. Can I enter the competition if I am matriculated part-time at my law school? 

Yes. Team members MUST be matriculated in a full- or part-time Juris Doctor (J.D.) program in the law school they represent. Proof of current registration in law school for each team member MUST be attached to the team's online entry form. Proof of current registration in law school for each team member MUST be included with the team's online entry form. Proof of registration may include a student ID card or a letter from the registrar’s office. Allowed files types are jpg, gif, png, pdf with a maximum file size of 2MB. No team member may hold a law degree from a law school in the United States. Please refer to the Official Rules for more information.
2. Can an LL.M student enter the competition?

No. An LL.M student who has obtained his/her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree may not enter the competition. However, if a student is pursuing a joint J.D./LL.M program, he/she may enter the competition.
3. Is my school allowed to enter more than one team in the competition? How many team members are allowed on a team?

Each school may enter up to TWO teams. The competition is open to teams of law school students from any United States law school so long as graduation from such school renders its students eligible for admission to a state bar in the United States.

Teams may consist of two, three or four students from the same school.
4. Is a team allowed to replace team members after submitting the team’s entry form?

INTA MUST receive the team’s completed entry form by October 12, 2018, 5:00 pm U.S. Eastern Time.

After submitting the entry form, a team is allowed to replace team members up until the filing of briefs on January 4, 2019, 5:00 pm U.S. Eastern Time. After this date, the team must receive consent from the Lefkowitz Committee by emailing lefkowitz@inta.org in order to replace team members.

A team replacing team members MUST submit proof of matriculation for new team members.
5. Is there a registration fee to enter the Competition?   

 There is no registration fee to enter the competition but teams are responsible for their own travel expenses to the Regional Competition. INTA will reimburse those teams that advance to the National Finals for their reasonable hotel and transportation expenses for attending the Finals, up to a maximum of $1,000 per team.

All receipts for travel and/or hotel expenses must be submitted to INTA no later than March 21, 2019. After this date, INTA will not consider travel expenses for reimbursement and the team (or law school) will be responsible.  Please note that INTA will not reimburse transportation and/or hotel expenses if either are purchased using frequent flier miles or reward points.
6. How many sides is a team expected to brief? How many sides is a team expected to argue during oral arguments?

Each team is randomly assigned one side to brief; the team will then brief all issues from that side’s perspective.

For oral arguments, each team will argue both sides.
7. Can briefs be emailed/mailed/hand delivered to INTA’s Office?

No. Briefs cannot be emailed, mailed or hand delivered to INTA. Each team shall file its brief as a PDF file by uploading it online. The brief must be received by INTA no later than January 4, 2019, 5:00 pm U.S. Eastern Time. Briefs received after this date may not be considered.

Briefs are not returned to the teams after the competition. Please refer to the Official Rules for more information.
8. Are past winning briefs shared with participating teams?

Past winning briefs ARE NOT shared.
9. Can one team member participate in the oral arguments at the Regional and National Competitions?

No. Each team MUST designate TWO team members to argue during oral arguments at the Regional and National Competitions.  
10. Can coaches and/or faculty advisors observe the oral arguments? 

Team members, coaches, faculty advisors or any other person affiliated with the team are permitted to attend ONLY those arguments in which that team is participating. Please refer to the Official Rules for more information.
11. Are individual and team scores released to students who participate in the competition? 

Individual and team scores ARE NOT released. After the National Finals, each team will be notified by email of its oral argument, brief, and overall rankings in its region and nationwide. Regional and National Finals winners, along with names of all participating schools, will be posted on the Lefkowitz page of INTA’s website at www.inta.org/lefkowitz after the National Finals.
 

 Lefkowitz Competition Sponsors

 
 

 Lefkowitz Competition Designs