A mere seven years since its inception, Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) recently organized a first of its kind moot court competition based on the law interfacing intellectual property and competition set in an international context.
The 1st Jindal Technology Law & Policy Moot Court Competition (Jindal Moot) was led by the Jindal Initiative for Research in IP and Competition (JIRICO) in association with the Center for IP and Technology Law (CIPTEL) and the Jindal Moot Court Society (MCS). The moot saw participation from premier law schools including Tribhuvan University Nepal, National Law University Delhi, NALSAR Hyderabad, West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences and ten others.
Speaking on the occasion Prof C Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, O. P. Jindal Global University said, ” The Jindal Law and Policy Moot will become an important part of the mooting calendar not only in India but globally. We hope that in the years to come we will have a significant representation of teams from around the world as part of our effort to create a knowledge base and foundation for serious research related to IP and other related issues.”
The Competition case, authored by Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer, IP Expert and Founding Editor SpicyIP discussed intricate law and policy related aspects concerning licensing of an unconventional technology standard as an investor state arbitration before the ICSID. The competition consisted of two days of preliminary rounds held at the O.P Jindal Global University campus at Sonipat and were judged by over 50 judges comprising of practitioners, academics, as well as former winners of moot court competitions.
“The format of the competition is designed to reimagine the art of mooting with contemporary law and policy dimensions and so we wanted an unorthodox competition case that would challenge the brightest ones. This edition has achieved that goal satisfactorily.” said Prof. Sunita Tripathy, Director Student Welfare, JGU and faculty coordinator, Jindal Moot 2016.
Four out of the fourteen teams qualified for the semi-final rounds and were judged by benches chaired by Dr. Prabhash Ranjan, Assistant Professor, South Asian University and Mr. J. Sai Deepak, Associate Partner, Saikrishna and Associates. The teams from Indian Law Society’s Law College (ILS), Pune and Gujarat National Law University qualified for the championship round held at the Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi before an eminent five judge panel comprising of reputed experts in the field.
The panel was presided by Hon’ble Justice B.N. Srikrishna, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India as the President of the forum. The other members of the panel were Dr. Geeta Gouri ,Former Member, Competition Commission of India, Mr. Manas Kumar Chaudhuri, Senior Partner, Khaitan and Co., Dr. Sheetal Vohra , Partner, Lakshmikumaran Sridharan and Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer, legal expert and author of the Competition Case.
After an intense and riveting two hour long final, ILS Pune emerged overall winners of the competition. While reflecting on the overall competition, Hon’ble Justice BN Srikrishna, former judge, Supreme Court of India said, “The standard of the moot is quite impressive. Both the finalist teams were extremely composed and well prepared to tackle all the questions, which are the makings of a good lawyer.” It was also noted by all the judges that the teams displayed a fine ability to think on the feet which must be encouraged.
Each member of the winning team received copies of “Overlapping Intellectual Property Rights” signed by the author Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer along with an iPad, and the Runners Up received a Kindle Voyage. The Best Oralist of the Competition (from ILS Pune) also received an internship opportunity at Nishith Desai Associates for her excellent performance in the moot.
The guests, participatory teams and dignitaries were immensely impressed with the standard of the competition and congratulated all the participants’ for having displayed the ability to interpret complex aspects of law and policy concerning patent, competition and investment arbitration.
“The arrangements and hospitality were impeccable, and the quality of participation did justice to the moot problem considering that this is the first edition of the Moot.” said Mr. J Saideepak, judge semifinals, Jindal Moot, 2016.
Akhila student of ILS Pune and the winner of best oralist at the Jindal Moot expressed her elation at having won “Jindal Moot has been a fantastic learning experience for the team. The feedback from the judges was very valuable. I am extremely overjoyed with the results.”
Prof. Manveen Singh, faculty coordinator and member of JIRICO noted that “having worked on the moot for the past 6 months, I feel it was quite a fitting finale to the competition. The teams stood happy in the light of detailed feedback from the judges right throughout the moot. The entire credit goes to the students and all the faculty members who were a part of the initiative.”
The Jindal Moot is the second academic endeavor led by JIRICO, an initiative which aims at engaging in deliberative exercises concerning interdisciplinary and high-impact law and policy related research. This involves contributions from experts in the field of intellectual property law, competition law, economics and management. Previously, JIRICO invited experts for a National Consultation Workshop on IP and Competition in December, 2015 and will be organizing a high-level International Conference in the month of August, later this year.
JGLS hopes that with the huge success of the 1st Jindal Moot, several leading law schools in and around the world would participate in the second edition which is to take place in the month of March, next year.