5th B Krishna Memorial National IPR Moot Court Competition 2013

Symbiosis Law School, Pune

(1st -3rd February ‘13)

Symbiosis Law School, Pune, the constituent of Symbiosis International University, Pune, in its quest for gaining legal excellence, successfully organized the 5th B. Krishna Memorial National IPR Moot Court Competition 2013, in association with Krishna and Saurastri Associates, from 1st to 3rd of February 2013 in Symbiosis Law School, Pune.

A moot court is a form of simulated court proceeding usually to include drafting briefs (or memorials) and participating in oral argument. Mooting is seen as an essential skill which each law school student should strive to imbibe and with this objective this competition was organized. While there are many moot court competitions on traditional areas of law by various National and International Law Schools in the country, the Krishna National IPR Moot Court Competition, is one of its kinds as it deals distinctively with Intellectual Property Laws expressly patents and has thus created a niche for itself in the Mooting Circuit.

Going into its fifth edition, the B. Krishna Memorial National IPR Moot Court Competition 2013 witnessed  participation of 30 Law Schools across the country, including LSIU Bangalore, NALSAR Hyderabad, NUJS Kolkata, NLU Jodhpur, RMNLU Lucknow, HNLU Raipur, NLU Odisha, NLIU Bhopal, NLU Delhi, NUALS, Kochi, GNLU, Gandhinagar, RGNLU Patiala and many other renowned Law Colleges battling out to conquer the glittering trophy.

The inauguration ceremony was held at the Symbiosis Law School Auditorium with Advocate Shri Manan Kumar Mishra, Hon’ble Chairman of the Bar Council of India as the Chief Guest.  Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, Fulbright Scholar, Director, Symbiosis Law School and Dean, Faculty of Law, Symbiosis International University, Pune and Adv. Shri R. Muralidharan, Advocate and Patent Attorney, Head, Krishna and Saurastri Associates, Bangalore represented the two organizing partners, Symbiosis Law School, Pune and Krishna and Saurashtri Associates, respectively.

The participants and dignitaries were welcomed by screening of a short film about the Symbiosis legacy. After the traditional lighting of lamp by the dignitaries, Padma Bhushan Dr. S.B. Mujumdar, Founder president, Symbiosis, Chancellor, Symbiosis International University who presided over the function, delivered the opening remarks. He praised moot court competitions as the perfect simulator for real world court room situations and applauded Dr. Manan Kumar Mishra for liberalizing legal education and opening it up to the masses.

Dr. Gurpur, delivered the welcome address, welcoming the participants she spoke about the importance of involving professionals from the field of legal education and congratulated firms such as Krishna and Saurashtri Associates for their initiative.

Adv. Shri R. Muralidharan gave the participants an introduction to the competition and emphasized the need for a skill based learning experience. He said we are very good withShruti & Smriti but are bad with documentation. He stressed on the need to protect knowledge that we create and predicted that there will be a high demand for patent lawyers in the near future. Mr. Madan Kumar Mishra, the chief guest for the day, then delivered the key-note address. He offered humorous anecdotes from his personal experiences with mooting and stressed on the role it plays in building the confidence of young professionals. The vote of thanks was conveyed by Dr. Bindu Ronald.

The three day 5th B. Krishna Memorial National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Moot Court Competition concluded with the Valedictory and Prize Distribution Ceremony on 3rd February. The dignitaries gracing the occasion were Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ravindra Bhat, Judge, Delhi High Court; Dr. Smt. S.S. Phansalkar Joshi, Jt. Director, Maharashtra Judicial Academy; Adv. Shri R. Murlidharan, Advocate and Patent Attorney, Head, Krishna and Saurastri Associates, Bangalore; Mr. Manish Saurastri, Partner, Krishna and Saurastri Associates, Mumbai; and Adv. A. Mariapurtham, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India; Dr. Prabuddha Ganguli, CEO – Vision IPR and MHRD – IPR Chair Professor; Adv. Shri Radhakrishnan Nair, director, IPAI & Patent Attorney among others.

Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, Fullbright Scholar, Director, Symbiosis Law School, Pune and Dean, Faculty of Law, Symbiosis International University in her concluding address, termed mooting as a part and parcel of quality legal education and an opportunity to exhibit talent. Further, she thanked the galaxy of experts who were present at the occasion for their encouragement to the youngsters, and for their co-operation in the success of the entire competition.

Taking over from her was the Chief Guest for the ceremony, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ravindra Bhat. He went on to appreciate the efforts put by the participants, hosts and volunteers alike. He reiterated that this generation is very lucky to be able to have access to such opportunities and put emphasis on quality advocacy.

Adv. Radhakrishnan Nair in his address stated that IPR is one of the most promising and specialized fields in the area of law; and Dr. Prabuddha Ganguli who underlined the need for specifically creative lawyers. He went on to give his personal views on the Competition thereby highlighting the importance of critical analysis of the problem.

Finally, Adv. Shri. Murlidharan announced the results of the competition. To begin with Mr. Anshul Goel from Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi and Ms. Anju Srinivasan from ILS Law College Pune, walked away with the Best Male and Best Female Advocate awards with the prize money of Rs. 5000 each, respectively. The award for the Best Memorial with the prize money of Rs 10,000 went to the team from NLIU Bhopal consisting of Monik Prakash, Garima Singh and Shivang Sinha. The afternoon was celebrated in the name of National Law University, Delhi consisting of Nidhi Chikkerur, Sanya Sud and Devanshi Saxena, who walked away with the glittering trophy and a cash award of Rs. 25,000. NLU Jodhpur comprising of Aabhas Kshetrapal, Pooja Menon and Digvijay Khapre, was declared the runners up with a cash prize of Rs. 15,000.

This was followed by the Vote of Thanks by Deputy Director, Dr. Bindu Ronald. Dr. Ronald thanked the dignitaries for their gracious presence and recognized the importance of mooting as being an essential part of any student’s law school life. She appreciated the untiring efforts put in by the student community and the faculty to make this event a success.