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

The 2024-2025 PTAB Moot Court Competition

The competition will launch in an introductory capacity in fall 2024, and the competition organizers will invite up to 10 teams to participate in the competition held during the 2024-2025 academic year. We intend to expand the competition to accommodate more teams for the 2025-2026 academic year.

The USPTO and PTAB invite law schools to express interest in participating in the 2024-2025 PTAB Moot Court Competition by submitting an interest form using the button below. Interest forms for the 2024-2025 academic year are due on March 31.

Submit interest form

Competition scope

Each team will prepare briefs on behalf of both the mock petitioner and patent owner in the proceeding. APJs will evaluate and score each team’s briefs. Additionally, APJs will provide written 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. Each team will argue twice, once on behalf of the petitioner and a second time on behalf of the patent owner. Upon conclusion of each oral hearing, the APJ panel will provide feedback.

To aid participating teams, PTAB judges (who are not coaching) 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, then attend another virtual training session about effective written advocacy before written briefs are due, and finally attend the last virtual training session about effective oral advocacy before the oral hearings are held.

APJ coaching

Each team participating in the competition will be paired with a coach who is a current PTAB Administrative Patent Judge (APJ). Having current 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

Interest forms for the 2024-2025 academic year are due on March 31.

Schools will be selected for the competition by April 30 and will have until May 15 to accept and identify their team members.

Problem materials for the competition will be released in fall 2024. The written submissions will be due in early 2025. The oral hearings will take place in spring 2025.

There is no entry fee for the competition.

More details on the competition, including rules, scoring criteria, and key dates, will be available soon.

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

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.

When are interest forms due?

Law schools interested in participating must fill out the interest form by March 31, 2024, to indicate their interest in the competition. The interest form must be submitted by a faculty member or law school administrator. Students interested in participating in the competition should reach out to a professor or school administrator to have them submit the required information. Only one entry per law school is permitted. Law schools do not need to identify team members at this time.

Submitting an interest form does not guarantee participation in the 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 will be invited to participate in the competition by April 30, 2024, and selected 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. Law schools not invited to participate in the competition held during the 2024-2025 academic year will be given the option to be placed on a waitlist. We encourage these schools to apply again next year for the competition held during the 2025-2026 academic year, when we plan to expand 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 individual 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: