INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW CLINIC

INTERNATIONAL PATENT DRAFTING COMPETITION

The annual International Patent Drafting Competition, which is held at the Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regional USPTO, takes place at the beginning of each year and offers student teams the opportunity to present their patent applications in front of a panel of judges comprised of patent examiners, practitioners, and several high profile guest judges. The competition is growing in popularity as we started out with just 4 teams in 2016 and have now grown to over 15 teams from across the United States and Canada.

2021 Competition

Registration is NOW OPEN for the

2021 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office National Patent Drafting Competition.

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Online Event
Saturday, March 6, 2021

8am-5pm

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Register HERE

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Key dates
October 1, 2020 – Team registration opens

November 7, 2020 – Team registration closes

November 13, 2020 – Team invitations sent

November 16, 2020 – Invention statement released to teams

February 8, 2021 – Deadline to submit team patent application

March 6, 2021 – Virtual Regional Rounds – Regional Winners announced

March 21, 2021 – Deadline to submit National Finals team patent application

April 2021 – National Finals competition

PAST COMPETITIONS

2020 Competition

Thank you to all those that participated in the 2020 Midwest Regional Patent Application Drafting Competition.  This is the 5th year that University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and Windsor Law have hosted the competition.  For 2020, the competition was expanded to include all USPTO regions –Midwest,  Rocky Mountain, West Coast, East Coast and Texas.

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Due to the COVID-19 virus, the Midwest region competed remotely thanks to the Midwest Regional United States Patent and Trademark office having the technology in place to make this possible.  Teams competed via WebEx and judges and USPTO staff were at the USPTO. We thank everyone for their cooperation and willingness to adapt. We hope to see everyone next year….in person.

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WINNERS: 

1st Place- University of St. Thomas School of Law
2nd Place- Michigan State University College of Law
3rd Place- University of Michigan, Michigan Law

2019 Competition

WINNERS: 

1st Place- Indiana University, Maurer School of Law
2nd Place- University of Windsor, Faculty of Law
3rd Place- University of Michigan, Michigan Law

2018 Competition

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WINNERS: 

1st Place- Georgia State University College of Law
2nd Place- University of Missouri- Kansas City
3rd Place- York University, Osgoode Hall Law School

2017 Competition

WINNERS: 

1st Place- Saint Louis University
2nd Place- York University, Osgood Hall Law School
3rd Place-Western Michigan, Cooley Law School

2016 Competition

WINNERS: 

1st Place- Indiana University, Maurer School of Law
2nd Place- Western Michigan, Cooley Law School
3rd Place- University of Windsor Law/University of Detroit Mercy Law