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The Nordic Intellectual Property Moot Court Competition 2017 (NIP 2017)

Welcome to the Nordic Intellectual Property (NIP) Moot Court Competition 2017 website!

Please tell us who you are! As soon as you have decided to participate in the NIP this year you should provide the Registrar (see below) with:

i) a Team Name

ii) a list of team participants (two to three persons)

iii) an indication as to which country the team represents (DK, FI, NO, SE) and

iv) one e-mail address to be used for communication (the Team Address)

1. About the Moot Court

  • The Nordic Intellectual Property Moot Court competition is organized every year by Universities in one of the four Nordic countries participating (i.e. Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway). In turn, every year one of this countries is in charge of organizing the competition.
  • The year 2017 is the turn of Finland!
  • Goals

The NIP Moot Court provides students with the possibility to:

1. Deepen their understanding of IP law especially of how IPRs are litigated

2.  Practice their skills (both written and oral) outside of the lecture halls of the university and in an international environment

3. Build a professional profile and prove their skills during their studies

4. Get involved with the IP community (practitioners, judges) in order to enhance their possibilities to find jobs after graduation

  • Structure

The competiton is structured into two rounds and a final, as follows:

1. First round (national level):

Written submission nr. 1: statement of Claim

2. Second round (national level):

Written submission nr. 2: statement of Defence

The finalist team chosen on a national level based on the two briefs written by the teams

3. Third Round = the Final (Nordic level)

Presenting oral arguments (presenting the case, responding, rebuttal arguments) in front of a panel of Judges

The panel choose and announce the winning team

2. Previous Moots

3. Schedule

  • The schedule of the Nordic Intellectual Property Moot Court Competition 2017 (NIP 2017) is as follows:
Nr. Task Date Deadline
1 The NIP 2017 case is made available on the NIP 2017 website (https://blogs.helsinki.fi/nipcomp2017/) 25.9.2017 at 12.00 GMT+3 (=Helsinki time)
2 Round one of NIP 2017 25 September 2017 to 20 October 2017
2.1 The Statement of Claims shall be sent to the Registrar of the Arbitration Court   20 October 2017, 23.59 GMT+3
3 Round two of NIP 2017 23 October 2017 to 20 November 2017
3.1. Each team will receive an email sent to the Team Address including a Statement of Claims written by one of the other team. On the basis of the received Statement of Claims, a Statement of Defence is to be drafted 23 October 2017
3.2. The Statement of Defence shall be sent to the Registrar of the Arbitration Court 20 November 2017, 23.59 GMT+2
4 The best team from each country is selected and announced. At the same time, the position (claimant/defendant) of the teams reaching the final oral hearing is communicated. The information is made available on the NIP 2017 website. 2 December 2017, 12:00 GMT+2
5

Third round, i.e. the Final. Judges from the participating countries compose the arbitration panel. The Final will be at the Market Court (Radanrakentajantie 5, 00520)

The oral hearing is followed by a dinner at Restaurant Sipuli to which all participants and judges are invited.

13 December 2017 13:00-18:00

GMT +2

 4. Contacts

  • NIP 2017 Registrar of the Arbitration Court
  • Communications to the “Registrar of the Arbitration Court” should be addressed to sanni.eerola@helsinki.fi.

NOTE: All submissions to the registrar must include the Team Name and Team Address

5. Rules

5.1. Materials at your disposal and applicable law

  • Apart from the facts given in the NIP 2017 case you are free to use the following materials as sources:

Finnish Arbitration Act (967/1992; amendments up to 754/2015 included) available at http://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/1992/en19920967.pdf

The IP Acts of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark and any relevant EU-legislation.

National Supreme Court decisions in Nordic, as well as in other EEA countries could be of relevance for the argumentation of the case. Since the arbitration panel bases its decision on Nordic law, the emphasis should be on Nordic decisions. Decisions from other countries than Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway can only have persuasive authority. Any relevant EU legislation is applicable as interpreted by the European Court of Justice.

5.2. First round: Statement of Claim

  • After having received the case all teams are required to formulate a Statement of Claim. This statement should be sent on 20 October 2017, 23.59 GMT+3 at the latest to the Registrar of the Arbitration Court.
  • The Statement of Claim shall contain all claims and arguments the party intends to present. There will be no possibility to amend or add to the Statement of Claim at a later stage. The focus should be on substantive intellectual property law and not on questions pertaining to arbitration, formalities or procedural law.

*Delayed submission may lead to disqualification*

5.3. Second round: Statement of Defence

  • On 23 October 2017 each team will receive an email with a Statement of Claim written by another team, on the basis of which a Statement of Defence should be made.
  • The Statement of Defence shall contain all claims and arguments the party intends to present. There will be no possibility to amend or add to the Statement of Defence at a later stage. The focus should be on substantive intellectual property law and not on questions pertaining to arbitration, formalities or procedural law.
  • In addition, if the receiving team is of the opinion that the Statement of Claim they have received is lacking some relevant arguments the team may discuss such arguments separately under the heading “Submissions which the Claimant ought to have made and responses thereto”. The receiving team can thus show that they have found some relevant circumstances and arguments that the other team has not observed and, at the same time, compensate lines of argumentation that otherwise are missed because of the first team’s negligence in their Statement of Claim.
  • The Statement of Defence shall be sent no later than 20 November 2017, 23.59 GMT+2 to the Registrar of the Arbitration Court.

*Delayed submission may lead to disqualification*

6. Formalities

6.1. Language and formalities

  • The language of the proceedings is English and all arguments should therefore be made in this language. Possible annexes can be submitted in original (Nordic) languages, but other references and/or citations shall be made in English.
  • Do not forget to number the pages submitted, annexed materials like decisions, articles, etc.
  • All materials must be sent in as pdf-documents.

6.2. Legal and procedural support

  • Each team will have a mentor who will guide and support the team in practical and strategic matters in connection with the statements. These support persons shall not give legal advice as such, but should instead highlight problems by asking questions.
  • Such mentoring shall not exceed 8,5 hours.

7. Third Round: Final

  • The final of NIP 2017 will take place on 13 December 2017 at the Market Court in Helsinki, Finland. The Final is followed by a dinner at Restaurant Sipuli. We hope, however, to see one team from each of the Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The finalist teams will be chosen on the basis of the two briefs written by the teams (Statement of Claim and Statement of Defence).
  • The names of the finalists will be published on 2 December 2017 at 12:00 GMT +2 on the NIP 2017 website.
  • Finalist teams:
    • The best Finnish team is Team Helsinki 1 composed by Cristopher Chillemi, Miia-Mari Kasi and Kevin Tung.
    • The best Swedish team is Team Ägida Limited composed by Szymon Czerny and Ester-Maria Elze.

    • The best Norwegian team is Team Intellectual Pro-Party composed by Kine Måsøval Knutsen, Nicolas Amilien Simon and Nora Sandvik Bratheim.

    • The best Danish team is Team 1 composed by Pia Goldschmidt, Berdien van der Donk, Lea Danyan Zheng and Elisabeth Hyttel Pedersen.

8. Winning team

  • The winning team of NIP 2017 is chosen by the panel of judges on the basis of the total contribution (written and oral). Factors taken into account include, for example, the persuasiveness and clarity of argumentation, the oral presentation, use of sources and the formal appearance of the documents.

9. Examination, credit points, grades

  • Examination, credit points for the participation in the NIP moot court is a matter for each university, so if you have any questions on those issues talk to your professor.

GOOD LUCK!!!

Marcus Norrgård, Professor of Private Law, University of Helsinki