PTAB Moot Court Competition

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) are hosting a new moot court competition for law school students. This new PTAB Law School Moot Court Competition will provide law school students a unique opportunity to develop written and oral advocacy skills in the context of an America Invents Act (AIA) trial proceeding.

Competition scope Coaching Dates and logistics

Frequently asked questions Contact us

The 2024-2025 PTAB Moot Court Competition

Competition scope

Each team will prepare briefs on behalf of both the mock petitioner and patent owner in the proceeding. Administrative Patent Judges (APJ) will evaluate and score each team’s briefs. Additionally, APJs will provide feedback about the advocacy and persuasiveness of each team’s briefs.

After completion of the briefs, each team will participate in a live oral hearing, conducted virtually, before a panel of three APJs. Upon conclusion of each oral hearing, the APJ panel will provide feedback. More details about the oral arguments will be available soon.

To aid participating teams, PTAB judges will offer optional training sessions to educate students about the AIA trial process, written and oral advocacy best practices, and other practice tips. These optional sessions will be held virtually at select times over the course of the competition. For example, teams will have the option to attend a virtual training session about the AIA trial process at the start of the competition, attend virtual training sessions about effective written advocacy before written briefs are due, and finally attend a virtual training session about effective oral advocacy before the oral hearings are held.

APJ coaching

Each team participating in the competition will work with an APJ coach. Having APJs as coaches will give teams the unique opportunity to learn directly from APJs. Teams can expect to gain practical tips and experience in best presenting a case before the PTAB.

Dates and logistics

There is no entry fee for the competition.

You can review the timeline for the competition below. More details on the competition will be provided during the September 13 orientation meeting.

Important dates

Event	Date
Orientation meeting (webinar) for students and advisors Rules and scoring criteria posted First problem materials released	September 13, 2024
Second problem materials released	December 16, 2024
Oral hearings — First round (virtual)	April 7-11, 2025
Oral hearing — Finals (virtual)	April 14-18, 2025

Deadlines

Event	Date
Team check-in — Petition	No later than October 18, 2024
Petitions due	November 25, 2024
Team check-in — Patent owner response	No later than February 7, 2025
Patent owner responses due	March 3, 2025

Training

Event	Date
Training webinar 1: AIA trial process	September 27, 2024
Training webinar 2: Written advocacy – Petition	October 4, 2024
Training webinar 3: Written advocacy – Patent owner response	January 24, 2025
Training webinar 4: Oral advocacy	February 14, 2025

Office hours

Event	Date
Office hours (webinar)	November 15, 2024
Office hours (webinar)	February 21, 2025

Full schedule

Event	Date
Orientation meeting (webinar) for students and advisors Rules and scoring criteria posted First problem materials released	September 13, 2024
Training webinar 1: AIA Trial Process	September 27, 2024
Training webinar 2: Written advocacy — Petition	October 4, 2024
Team check-in — Petition	No later than October 18, 2024
Office hours (webinar)	November 15, 2024
Petitions due	November 25, 2024
Second problem materials released	December 16, 2024
Training webinar 3: Written advocacy — Patent owner response	January 24, 2025
Team check-in — Patent owner response	No later than February 7, 2025
Training webinar 4: Oral advocacy	February 14, 2025
Office hours (webinar)	February 21, 2025
Patent owner responses due	March 3, 2025
Mock arguments (on your own)	March 2025
Oral hearings — First round (virtual)	April 7-11, 2025
Oral hearing — Finals (virtual)	April 14-18, 2025
Written feedback on briefs to teams	No later Than April 25, 2025
End-of-competition evaluation	TBD

Frequently asked questions

Who is eligible to apply?

The competition is open to teams comprised of two law school students. The students must be enrolled full time or part time in a Juris Doctor (JD) program at the same law school during the 2024-2025 academic year. Although not required, completion of courses in intellectual property (e.g., IP survey, patent law) and trial advocacy prior to competing is strongly recommended.

Only law schools based in the United States are eligible for this competition.

How will teams be selected?

Competition organizers have the goal of including a wide spectrum of law schools in the competition. Organizers will review submitted interest forms and invite schools to participate in the competition based upon considerations, which include:

The school's size
Geographic location
Academic course offerings
Student demographics
Prior participation in intellectual property-focused competitions

Selected law schools were sent invitations on April 30, 2024, and invited law schools must accept the invitation by May 15, 2024.

In their acceptance, the law school must identify team members and commit to both the written and oral argument components of the competition.

Is there an entry fee for teams?

No, an entry fee is not required to participate in the competition.

Where will the oral hearings be held?

Oral hearings for the 2024-2025 PTAB Moot Court Competition will be held virtually.

How will the teams be judged?

Briefs submitted will be judged based on compliance with PTAB rules, persuasiveness of headings and argument, factual and legal analysis, effective use of authority and exhibits, grammar and punctuation, style, and proper citation format.
Oral arguments will be judged based on knowledge of the record, effectiveness of hearing argument, ability to address questions and return to presentation, and professional demeanor.

More details regarding scoring criteria, including links to scoring sheets, will be available soon.

Will teams receive feedback on their briefs and oral arguments?

Yes, APJs who review and score the briefs and conduct the oral hearings will provide teams with feedback on their work. Teams will also receive feedback from their APJ coaches.

How many students may be on a team and how many team members can participate in oral arguments?

A team is limited to two students enrolled at the same law school. Both team members are expected to contribute to the written briefing and present at the oral hearings. For example, competition organizers anticipate that the team will divide issues and one student will brief and argue one issue while the other student briefs and argues a second issue.

How can teams learn more about PTAB to prepare for competition?

PTAB judges will offer optional training sessions to educate students about the AIA trial process. The webinars will begin shortly after the competition problem materials are released. Additional information about PTAB practice is available here:

Contact us

If you have questions, email us at PTABMootCourt@uspto.gov.