Moot Court Competition

About the Competition

The Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial Moot Court competition is named for the late Honorable Giles Sutherland Rich, Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The competition is an annual inter-law school event sponsored by the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). There is no entry fee for the competition. The competition is made possible through the volunteer service of attorneys, judges, and AIPLA professionals. 

Tentative Deadlines for the 2026-2027 Competition (subject to finalization):

• Priority deadline for submission of Notices of Intent to Compete is Friday, December 11, 2026 (11:00 pm local time).
• All Notices of Intent to Compete are due by Friday, January 8, 2027 (11:00 pm local time).
• Briefs for Regional Rounds are required to be served by Friday, January 29, 2027 (11:00 pm local time).
• All Regional Rounds will be held over three days from Friday, March 12 to Sunday, March 14, 2027
• Briefs for teams advancing to the National Rounds are required to be served by Friday, March 19, 2027 (11:00 pm local time).
• The National Rounds will be held over three days from Wednesday, April 14 to Friday, April 17, 2027.

2026-2027 AIPLA GSR Problem
2026-2027 AIPLA GSR Joint Appendix
2026-2027 Giles S. Rich Memorial Moot Court Competition Rules

Appendix A - Competition Directors - updated pending.
Appendix B--Brief Judging Form
Appendix C---Oral Argument Judging Form

2026-2027 Giles S. Rich Memorial Moot Court Notice of Intent

Regions:

• Northeastern: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware -- Regional competition will likely take place in Boston or New York
• Midwestern: Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio -- Regional competition will likely take place in Chicago
• Southern: Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi -- Regional competition will likely take place in Houston
• Southeastern: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Dist. of Columbia -- Regional competition will likely take place in Atlanta
• Western: California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming -- Regional competition will likely take place in the Bay Area

2025-2026 Competition Results

AIPLA congratulates the National Winners, Columbia Law School’s Alexa Shyama and Elliot Riesman-Tremonte, and the Runner-Up team, University of Texas at Austin School of Law’s Nickoli Benkert and Amelie Trieu.