Canada’s IP Writing Challenge

 

Challenge Rules - PDF

IPIC and IP Osgoode (the “Challenge Sponsors”) wish to further enhance intellectual property public policy research and discussion and are proud to announce the inaugural Canada’s IP Writing Challenge. 

One winner will be announced from each of three separate author categories: 

1. Law student category (LL.B, J.D., BCL, and LL.L students)
2. Graduate student category (LL.M, S.J.D. and PhD students)
3. Professional category (legal and business professionals who have been practising 7 years or less, including patent agents and trade-mark agents). 

Each winner will be eligible for:

1. A prize of $1000 (CAD)
2. His/her work to be published on the IP Osgoode website (www.iposgoode.ca)
3. Be considered for publication in the Canadian Intellectual Property Review; and/or Osgoode Hall Review of Law and Policy (OHRLP) (http://www.ohrlp.ca/)

** The Challenge Sponsors reserve the right to not declare a winner in any or all of the challenge categories at their sole discretion. 

Challenge Rules

1. Eligibility

The IP Challenge is open to any Canadian Citizen that is:

Category 1: A full-time law student who is pursuing an LL.B./J.D., BCL, LL.L (or equivalent degree), or is articling or clerking in Canada during the 2008-2009 academic year. 

Category 2: A graduate student pursuing an LL.M, S.J.D. or PhD (or equivalent degree)

Category 3: Professional category (legal and business professionals who have been practising 7 years or less, including patent agents and trade-mark agents).

2. Topics 

Entries must develop a thesis of importance in an emerging area of intellectual property law from a Canadian, comparative or international perspective. Topics can be from within the broad categories of intellectual property law including patents, trade-marks, industrial design and copyright. 

A selection of potential areas to research and write on include, but are in no way limited to, the following: Digital media and freelance writing; Social networks, intellectual property and privacy; Geographical indicators (GIs) and international law; IP reform; Commercialization of IP; Patenting drugs and the pharmaceutical industry; Crime, counterfeiting and piracy; Network neutrality; The battle in branding for the Web; Patentability of business methods; Traditional knowledge; IP and developing countries; Copyright fair dealing and fair use.

IPIC and IP Osgoode encourage a range of perspectives and policy approaches.

3. Submission

Entries will be accepted by e-mail only to: iposgoode@osgoode.yorku.ca  (Subject line: Canada’s IP Writing Challenge). 

Please attach your entry in Word or PDF format.  

Entries must be received no later than 5 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday, July 1, 2009.

Do not indicate your name, contact information, affiliation, law school or any other personally identifying information within the text of your entry (including any identification marks in footnotes).

On a separate cover sheet, indicate your name, affiliation, law school (if applicable), year/program of study (if applicable), course/professor (if applicable) address, phone number, e-mail address and title of your paper. The Challenge Sponsors will use this information for the purpose of contacting the winner. Please ensure that contact information will be accurate until October 30, 2009.

Entries should be no longer than 7,500 typed words and should contain footnotes and not endnotes. Entries should be in Word or PDF format, using Times New Roman 12 point font and double-spaced. References should conform to the Sixth Edition of the McGill Guide to Uniform Legal Citation. Submissions may be made in either English or French.  

Entries must be your sole original work.

4. Assessment

Submissions will be reviewed based on the following criteria:

• Organization
• Clarity
• Originality, persuasiveness and creativity of argument
• Depth and variety of research (including the social, political, economic and ethical/moral context)
• Consideration of various policy alternatives to respond to IP challenges
• Analysis of the effect (both domestically and internationally) on various stakeholders

All entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges selected by the Challenge Sponsors.  The Challenge Sponsors reserve the right to not declare a winner in any or all of the challenge categories at their sole discretion.

5. Announcement

The Challenge Sponsors will contact the winners of this writing challenge by October 30, 2009. The winner will be publicly announced and published on the IP Osgoode Website (www.iposgoode.ca) and the IPIC website (www.ipic.ca).

Inquiries

613.234.0516
info@ipic.ca