Saul Lefkowitz National Trademark Moot Court

A trademark, unfair competition and intellectual property competition

The Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition is a national competition concerning topics in the area of trademark, unfair competition, and intellectual property law.

IMPORTANT: Students who submit entry forms by the November deadline may receive one credit for participating in this competition (writing the brief and conducting regional oral arguments). Sign up for credit during Spring semester course registration. 

What to expect

• This competition is open to second- and third-year law students.
• Gonzaga students participate with students from other law schools around the country. 
• Students compete in teams of two to four members.
• Student teams prepare an appellate brief and argue it against teams from other schools. 
• Each year, Gonzaga may enter up to two teams (a maximum of eight student participants.)
• Teams register for this competition in November.
• Lefkowitz Competition events takes place in Spring semester.
• The Lefkowitz Competition is sponsored by the Brand Names Education Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting education in the trademark field.

Before the competition

• Students wishing to participate must submit competition entry forms in November.
• Early entry helps ensure participation in the closest regional competition. 
• Participating teams write an appellant brief, with submission required in mid-January. 
• Briefs are graded blindly by experienced trademark litigators.
• This competition is open to all students, however, the appellate brief required can best be written by students who have had brief-writing experience from Legal Research and Writing classes.
• Gonzaga recommends that only second and third-year law students enter this competition.

At the regional competition

• The team is selected in the fall semester, with the Regional Competition taking place in San Francisco, CA, in the spring (usually February).
• All teams argue both sides (appellant and appellant) in the regional competition.
• Oral arguments are presented to three-judge panels in a real courtroom.
• Regional oral arguments are evaluated and judged by sitting judges and trademark practitioners. 
• Arguments in the West Region (which includes Gonzaga) are held in San Francisco.

At the national competition

• Students advancing to finals present arguments in Washington, D.C., in March.
• In Washington, D.C., teams argue both sides of the brief, this time to a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

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