Saul Lefkowitz Competition Celebrates 31st Annual National Finals Winners

The Saul Lefkowitz Moot Court Competition concluded another successful year, capped off by the National Finals, which were held virtually on March 19. A team from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco, California, USA, composed of students Hunter Morrisey, Megan Pham, and Sabrina Tran, was named first place overall winner.

Now marking its 31st year, the annual competition is held by INTA in honor of Saul Lefkowitz, whose distinguished career was devoted to the development of trademark and unfair competition law.

This year’s competition included 70 teams with more than 180 students from accredited law schools across the United States. The participants were charged with writing a brief reflecting the legal issues in a specific fictional fact pattern/problem, and initially argued the case in regional competitions.

From there, 12 teams—two from each region—advanced to the National Finals:

Atlanta Region
Emory University School of Law, Atlanta, Georgia
University of North Carolina School of Law, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Chicago Region
Notre Dame Law School, Notre Dame, Indiana
University of Wisconsin Law School, Madison, Wisconsin

Dallas Region
Drake University Law School, Des Moines, Iowa
Washington University School of Law, St. Louis, Missouri

Los Angeles Region
University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, Los Angeles, California
Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, Malibu, California

New York Region
Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn, New York
Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.

San Francisco Region
University of California, Hastings College of the Law, San Franciso, California (two teams)

This year’s fictional problem examined issues relating to false advertising, fair use, and foreign equivalents in the context of a dispute between a brother and sister regarding sustainably made ice skates. The plaintiff, Nancy Frost Skates, LLC, filed suit against Billy Blades, Inc., the defendant, for trademark infringement. The plaintiff claimed likelihood of confusion between the SEALS and FOCA LIBRE trademarks and that the defendant engaged in false advertising under the Lanham Act.

The plaintiff moved for a preliminary injunction, indicating that the Blades advertisements are causing, and have already caused, irreparable harm. The defendant opposed the motion, arguing that the parties’ respective marks are different, not likely to be confused, and that its advertising constitutes permissible comparative advertising in which the word SEALS was used fairly.

The district court granted the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction, finding that there was a likelihood of confusion between the plaintiff’s SEALS trademark and the defendant’s FOCA LIBRE trademark. The court also found that the defendant’s use of FOCA LIBRE was fair, and that the defendant’s use of SEALS in the accused advertisements constituted false advertising. An appeal is pending.

At the National Finals, the students argued the case before judges and interlocutory attorneys from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, all of whom subjected the student advocates to rigorous questioning.

Ultimately, the following teams were named National Finals winners:

• First Place Overall: University of California, Hastings College of the Law (Hunter Morrisey, Megan Pham, Sabrina Tran)
• Second Place Overall: Emory University School of Law (Kevin Duong and Alyssa Gill)
• Dolores K. Hanna Best Brief Award: University of California, Hastings College of the Law (Hunter Morrisey, Megan Pham, Sabrina Tran)
• Second Place Brief: University of North Carolina School of Law (Megan Coates, Andrew Coyle, Meg Daly, and Sabrina Shah)
• Best Oralist: University of California, Hastings College of the Law (Marcus Grimes, Connor Moldo, Jessica Ng)
• Second Place Oralist: Emory University School of Law (Kevin Duong and Alyssa Gill)

At the awards ceremony, 2021‒2022 Saul Lefkowitz Committee Chair Brent Hawkins (Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, USA) thanked the oral argument judges and other volunteers and congratulated the students on the completion of another successful competition.

The organizer of the National Finals, Chris Foley (Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP, USA), then provided personal commentary on Mr. Lefkowitz, a longtime TTAB chairman, and made other thoughtful observations. Finally, Mr. Hawkins announced the winning teams.

Many students involved in the competition go on to careers with INTA member organizations as well as leadership positions in the Association itself. It is a valuable educational experience for all concerned.

The Saul Lefkowitz Project Team would like to thank all the many volunteers who participated in this year’s competition and helped to make it a success.

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of this article, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest. 

© 2022 International Trademark Association