The ChIPs Mock Oral Argument will provide rising advocates with the opportunity to practice and hone oral advocacy skills by participating in a mock argument involving an intellectual property issue, responding to questions from mock judges, and receiving feedback from Judges and seasoned attorneys. The mock argument materials will provide guidelines for participants. ChIPs will arrange for a panel of judges to participate in and provide feedback for each mock argument.  ChIPs anticipates that the panel of mock judges will include active or retired Judges, in-house counsel, and/or attorneys with oral advocacy experience.

ChIPs invites law firm associates at any level to participate. Attendees can be chosen at your discretion with priority given to those who would benefit from gaining experience practicing their oral advocacy skills. Participants need not specialize or have extensive experience in intellectual property law to participate.

The mock case is an AIA (America Invents Act) hearing for a patent already issued for a purse hanger:

Two days before the filing of the patent, a fashion insider shared a photo to social media of a purse holder identical to the one claimed in the patent that disappeared within 24 hours. A screenshot of the purse holder was then published a few days after the patent filing date in a fashion magazine with a US print circulation of more than 1 million readers. The issue is whether the photo of the purse hanger qualifies as prior art to invalidate the patent, and whether it was publicly accessible prior to the patent’s filing date.

Several patents have been filed for similar purse hangers, and other similar products have been sold. Why this purse hanger? Why now? The Petitioner argues the patented purse hanger is neither new nor non-obvious in light of previous purse hanger designs. The Patent Owner argues that the unique structure of its purse hanger is clearly novel and its design is not obvious and has benefits over previous designs.

Each team will consist of 6 people: two participants for the appellee plus a mentor; two participants for the appellant plus a mentor. Each pair will have 20 minutes for their argument, divided into 10 minutes each. Teams will argue opposite a team from another law firm.

Participation Fee: $5,000 per team.

• Thursday, May 16, 2024
• Virtual
• From 10:15 AM-1:00 PM PDT
  • Mock Oral Argument: 10:15 AM – 12:15 PM
  • Networking: 12:15-1:00 PM

Registration deadline is April 5, 2024

For questions about the case or volunteering to hear the arguments, please contact Monica Phillips, mphillips@chipsnetwork.org

For questions about registering your team, please contact Bridget Johnson, bjohnson@chipsnetwork.org.