Call For Entries: 10th RMLNLU-Nishith Desai Associates Conference And Legal Essay Competition On Intellectual Property Rights And Technology Law [Submit By 3 Dec, 2022]

RMLNLU was established in 2006 to impart quality legal education to students all over the country and to meet emerging challenges in the field of law. RMLNLU is committed to providing excellent infrastructure to its students and facilitating an environment that advances and disseminates knowledge of the law and legal processes. It aims to develop in students and research scholars a sense of responsibility to serve society in the field of law by developing skills in advocacy and legal writing.

About Nishith Desai Associates

Founded in 1990, Nishith Desai Associates has earned the reputation of being Asia's most Innovative Law Firm and the go-to specialists for companies around the world, looking to conduct businesses in India and for Indian companies considering business expansion abroad. In fact, NDA has been the proud recipient of the Financial Times-RSG award 4 times in a row, (2014-2017) as the Most Innovative Indian Law Firm. Their forte lies in providing innovative and strategic advice on futuristic areas of law such as those relating to Blockchain and virtual currencies, Internet of Things (IOT), Aviation, Artificial Intelligence, Privatisation of Outer Space, Drones, Robotics, Virtual Reality, Ed- Tech, Med-Tech & Medical Devices and Nanotechnology with their key clientele comprising of marquee Fortune 500 corporations.

About the Judges

The panel adjudicating the conference shall be chaired by Ms. Aarushi Jain and Ms. Aparna Gaur.

Ms. Aarushi Jain

She is the Co-Head of IP & TMT Practice. She has a rich experience spanning 12 years in areas of Education, Media, and Tech corporates, both domestic and international, on legal and regulatory issues. She advises clients on IP advisory, IP Litigation, and IP acquisitions deals. She is experienced in working on assignments, licensing collaborations, joint ventures, franchising, and distribution deals. She has assisted some of the top news media companies with content acquisition and licensing deals. She also has vast experience in advising foreign and Indian pre-schools, K-12 schools, colleges, and Edtech players on regulatory and legal issues. She is actively involved in policy making in this sector and has co-authored several research papers and articles focusing on legal issues in the education industry. Her work and contribution at NDA have been recognized by RSG Report 2017. It is described the same as 'deal oriented' and 'committed'. She has also been described by Asia Law 2019 as 'Excellent in work quality.

Ms. Aparna Gaur

The other chair in the panel, Ms. Aparna Gaur, is the leader of the IP and TMT team at NDA. She is integrally involved in IP transactional and advisory work and handles patent prosecution and IP litigation. She has vast experience in advising clients over a wide spectrum of industries in relation to the protection and enforcement of their IP. She has authored several articles on complex IP issues in India.

Ms. Aparna has represented clients in IP disputes before the Supreme Court of India, the Delhi High Court and lower courts, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board, and Indian Patents Office. Before NDA, she was a part of the litigation team at a leading boutique IP law firm in New Delhi, India where she represented India's biggest generic drug manufacturers in several landmark IP disputes including the Supreme Court's in Bayer v. Union of India affirming grant of the first ever compulsory license for a patented product in India. She is also a registered Patent Agent.

About the Journal Committee

The Committee was constituted with the objective of promoting legal research and writing. Apart from conducting RILEC every year, the Committee annually publishes two peer-reviewed journals – the RMLNLU Law Review and the RMLNLU Journal on CMET (Communication, Media, Entertainment and Technology) Law. Both these journals publish articles, essays, case notes/comments and book reviews from contributors all over the world. The RMLNLU Law Review also runs a blog that provides a platform for people in the field to express their opinions on contemporary legal issues.

Theme and Sub-Themes

This year the Committee is inviting original submissions from authors in the form of essays falling within the indicated contours of the theme of the conference - "IPR and Technology Law". The list of the indicated sub-themes is given below to aid the participants:

• Intellectual Property Theft
• Quantum computing and Intellectual Property Rights
• Copyright issues pertaining to Live Streaming of Gameplays, Online Reviews, and Walkthroughs
• Technology transfer and Intellectual Property
• No Specialised Intellectual Property Courts in India
• Metaverse and Intellectual Property Rights

Note: The sub-themes are only indicative. Authors are free to deviate and explore other IPR and Technology Law sub-themes of their own choice.

Eligibility

Authors must be pursuing their 5-year integrated LL.B. (Hons.) course/ 3-year LL.B. course/ LL.M from any recognized university in India and equivalent law degree abroad for the academic year of 2022-2023, to be eligible to participate in the competition.

Structure

● All entries will be judged and ranked by Nishith Desai Associates and the Committee.

● The authors of the top three entries will be selected for a virtual conference. In the conference, they would be required to present their papers before a panel of judges.

● The participants may adopt any suitable means for presenting the papers including audio-visual aids, such as PowerPoint presentation.

● The final rankings of the authors of the top three entries shall be declared on the basis of their paper presentations in the conference.

Cash Prizes

• Winner: INR 15,000/-
• First Runner- up: INR 10,000/-
• Second Runner- up: INR 5,000/-

Other entitlements

• Authors of top three entries will be receiving a 'Certificate of Achievement' and may, upon the discretion of the NDA, receive an internship opportunity.
• A 'Certificate of Merit' shall be provided to the selected entries.
• Top three entries will be published on the RMLNLU Law Review Blog.
• Top three entries may be considered for publication in the next issue of the RMLNLU Law Review Journal.
• All participants shall be receiving a 'Certificate of Participation'.

Participation Guidelines

● Co-authorship of entries (maximum two) among individuals from the same or different institutions is allowed.

● Multiple entries for the same authors are not allowed.

● Entries should be original, unpublished and non-plagiarized.

Submission Guidelines

● Word Limit: 4000-5000 words (excluding footnotes).

● Individual Attachments: Name; contact details; current academic status (year of study, name of university etc.); undertaking as to guarantee of originality.

○ Font and size for the essay: Times New Roman – 12

○ Font and size for footnotes: Times New Roman – 10

○ Paper Size: A 4

○ Line spacing: 1.5

○ Margin: 1" from all sides

○ Alignment: Justified

● Citation Style: Footnotes must be properly cited strictly in accordance with the latest OSCOLA (4th edition) format. No endnotes or speaking footnotes (descriptive footnotes) are permitted.

● Entries should be emailed to rilec.rmlnlu[at]gmail.com under the subject title "Entry for 10th RILEC – [Name(s) of Author(s)]" in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format.

● Any queries relating to the Competition should be addressed to rilec.rmlnlu@gmail.com.

Miscellaneous Rules

● The copyright for all entries shall vest with the Committee who herewith reserve the right to modify, postpone or defer the Competition and its adjudication indefinitely as and when exigencies of an unforeseen nature may arise.

● Any attempt, direct or indirect, to contact the panel of judges will be met with the immediate disqualification of the relevant entry.

● Any indication of the author's name or university in the entry shall lead to immediate disqualification from the Competition. Details about the author may only be specified in the body of the mail and the name of the author must not be mentioned in the name of the file submitted.

Important Dates

● Last date for submission of manuscript: 3rd December 2022. Late entries will not be entertained.

● The dates of the offline conference will be announced soon.

Contact Information

E-Mail ID (for queries): rilec.rmlnlu[at]gmail.com

Contact Persons:

● Shreyasi Singh: 9140657248

● Aryan Ahmed: 9868156992

For more details about the competition, access the brochure here.