The University of Miami School of Law Charles C. Papy, Jr. Moot Court Board placed second overall in the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition for the Southern Region.  The team consisted of second-year students Hartley Bane and Dana Foley and third-year students Ryan Girnun and Jessica Selway.

The competition, which is sponsored by the International Trademark Association, was held in Atlanta, Georgia on February 8th, 2008 and is the only competition in the United States with a focus on trademark and unfair competition law.  Competitors wrote briefs and argued the case in front of a panel of volunteer attorneys, jurists from the Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and judges from various districts and other courts. 

The first issue in this year's competition dealt with the validity of statutory and common law trademark rights in the face of alleged fraud and abandonment.  The second issue examined the likelihood of confusion between two related products bearing similar marks.  Duke University Law School won first place and the University of Miami School of Law placed second after a loss in the final round.  Third place went to Emory University Law School.  

This is the first year that the University of Miami School of Law’s Moot Court Board has participated in the Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition. For more information on the Charles C. Papy Moot Court Board, please visit: http://www.law.miami.edu/studentorg/mcb.php

Photo Caption: L-R, Ryan Girnun, Hartley Bane, and Dana Foley.

posted 03-March-2008