NEW YORK — The International Trademark Association (INTA) announced in a press release that it will hold its second annual Asia-Pacific Moot Court Competition in Singapore at the Singapore Management University School of Economics and Social Sciences March 1–2. The competition introduces law students to important issues in trademark law and unfair competition law on an international stage.

Inspired by INTA’s 28-year old Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition in the United States, the Association started the Asia-Pacific Moot Court Competition in 2018 for law schools outside the United States. Drawing schools mainly from the Asia-Pacific region, the competition this year features 21 teams from India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam; in addition, one team comes from the Czech Republic.

As part of the competition, teams must first write a brief on behalf of the appellant or the respondent on a fictional problem related to the general subjects of trademark law and unfair competition law in the region. At the upcoming moot court, they will submit their oral arguments in front of judges.

The eight teams with the highest combined brief and oral argument scores will go on to participate in the second day of competition. The final-round judges are Mark Lim, senior legal counsel at the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore; Supreme Court of Singapore Justice Valerie Thean; and Justice Manmohan Singh, retired Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court, India.

The competition comes during a time of INTA’s ongoing involvement in the Asia-Pacific region. INTA’s 142nd Annual Meeting—the world’s largest trademark event—will take place in Singapore April 25–29, 2020. This marks the second time INTA is bringing its Annual Meeting to Asia and the first time that the organization will host the event in Southeast Asia. In addition, INTA will host its 2019 Asia-Pacific Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 18–19.

“It’s compelling to hold events like the Asia-Pacific Moot Court Competition and the 2020 Annual Meeting in Singapore because of the country’s high intellectual property (IP) ranking and its leadership in promoting economic growth through innovation,” said INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo. “In addition to raising awareness of IP rights through these events, we’re also honored to help groom the next generation of legal counsel by giving them the opportunity to refine their skills in a moot court setting.”

Winners of last year’s Asia-Pacific Moot Court Competition were:

• Best Team: National University of Singapore Team 5

• Second Place Team: National University of Singapore Team 6

• Winner of the Final of the Oral Argument: School of Law, SASTRA University Team, India 13

• Runner Up in the Final of the Oral Argument: National University of Singapore Team 5

• Best Brief: School of Law, SASTRA University Team, India 11

• Second Place Brief Score: Shanghai Jiao Tong University Team 12