In September of 2004, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Faculty of Law at the University of Jordan and ASIP to organize the Moot Court Competition on IP topics among law students at the Jordanian universities. The Moot Court Competition at Jordan University was developed following the success of similar models at other universities, such as Harvard University in the United States. The first Moot Court Competition was held in conjunction with Jordan University in 2005. After the obvious success which this competition has achieved in its first cycle in 2005, the Dean revealed that it will be held on annual basis to provide law students with the required knowledge in the legal and IP field.
The competition aims at enhancing concepts of Intellectual Property on the local and regional fronts through motivating students to read and search more about IP issues and to increase their awareness about the role which IP plays in the economy. During the second year, there was even greater interest in the competition among Faculty of Law students. There were several stages to the competition, which began on March 20, 2006. On March 20th, 2006, an advertisement at the Faculty of Law of Jordan University announced registration for the event.
The competition was organized by two committees, the Coordinating Committee and the Executive Committee. The Coordinating Committee, which handled all administrative duties related to the competition, consisted of three representatives from the Faculty of Law and ASIP. While, the Executive Committee consisting of representatives from the Jordan Ministry of Justice, the Faculty of Law at Jordanian University Faculty, and the Jordan Ministry of Industry and Trade, evaluated all applications and arguments submitted by competing teams.
Students of the Faculty of Law formed teams and applied to the competition by writing an essay on their law studies, the importance of IP, and why they would like to participate in the competition. Twelve teams submitted applications for the competition, and four final teams were selected to work on the case for the competition. The contest revolved around a trademark case. The case concentrated on a company called “Take away” which is specialized in the domain of preparing meals for diabetes patients and owns the trademark “Be Healthy.” The final four teams in the competition submitted two 4-5 page arguments defending each company. Those who have reached to the final stage of the court were selected because of the best performance, legal preparation and their capabilities to defend the case.
On May 28th, 2006 after much preparation and practice, the two final teams presented arguments for each company in the Trademark case and related witnesses in front of the presiding Judge who was a representative of the Ministry of Justice. Additionally, each team had an opportunity to raise objections against the opposing team’s arguments and to question their witnesses. The competition provided participating students with the legal and practical experience that will benefit them in the future.
The competition offered first and second place winners training contracts in the fields of law and Intellectual Property at Talal Abu-Ghazaleh International. Additionally, the first place team received a monetary prize. On July 24, 2006 an awards ceremony was held in Amman honoring the winners of the competition.
The Moot Court Competition presents one of the few initiatives taken in the Arab World to raise awareness of Intellectual Property issues among Faculty students in the Arab region. It is the first and only competition of its kind in the Arab region, and ASIP administration hopes to extend it to other universities in the Arab region in the coming year. The Moot Court Competition supported and promoted justice in the courts regarding IP rights.
ASIP and the Faculty of Law at Jordan University look forward to the third annual Moot Court Competition during the spring of 2007. ASIP is currently working towards expanding the program to other universities in Jordan, and make it a regional competition. The competition is an effort to provide law students with practical experience in judicial cases, as well as promote IP rights within the Arab region. This is an overall effort to promote stronger enforcement of IP rights in the judicial systems all over the Arab region.
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