MEET THE VICTORS !!

Meet the proud Winners of the 6th Symbiosis B. Krishna Memorial IPR National Moot Competition, 2014. The team of Akriti Kapoor and Preeti Kareddy with Researcher Paresh Chinchole, has made RGSOIPL proud by winning the School’s first ever IPR moot court competition. We managed to catch them, in spite of their busy schedule, (oh yes..!! Busy accepting congratulations or feeling modest when people praise them) for a quick chat. They were more than willing though, to answer all our modest questions. Well here it is:

All Smiles: Preeti, Paresh and Akriti.

1. Hey guys, AWESOME work..!! Congratulations on your Victory. How does it feel to win the first ever National Level IPR Moot Court Competition for RGSOIPL?

Akriti: Top of the world !!! It feels amazing to see your parents happy because of you and more than anything else, the feeling that you have given something to your school is amazing. It feels great to feel that the school will always remember you.

Paresh: Saying "it feels good" is not enough to express how it feels. All happiness ..!!

Preeti: Overwhelming. I'm glad to have been able to make the school proud. I have a feeling our school will win Jessop (International Law) Moot as well now.

2. What challenged you to go for Symbiosis - B.Krishna Memorial National IPR Moot Court            Competition? The prestige of the Competition, the subject or the problem statement?

Akriti: Frankly, first it was the trust that my team mates reposed in me. Secondly, it was my inclination for IP. Thirdly, I have always had it in my mind that since we are the only IP law school in the country, it is not only our duty but also our responsibility to bag a position in a national IP moot court competition. Most of all, I guess it was my love for IP.

Paresh: The problem of this competition in the year 2013 attracted my attention and I gave it a shot but was not successful. Since then I decided that, I will be going next year, so I tighten my shoelaces and I told myself that no matter what happens I am going for this competition. The prestige of this moot was a big attraction which encouraged me to participate.

“It is not important to fill your memo with a plethora of cases and articles.”

3. How did you go about the preparation of the moot? What strategies did you make for the memo     preparation?

Akriti: Yes. Definitely, we strategized our every step of preparation. The biggest key to succeed in a moot, I feel is team work. Right from the beginning, all the three of us discussed every little detail, idea, concept, everything. We would brainstorm for hours together and decide our arguments. We would explain any strong point we found to everyone, discuss all the doubts and clarifications together. Once we knew what we had to write, we split the drafting of the issues.  As far as memo is concerned exclusively, it is very important to research in detail. Once we were ready with our research, I would write all that I wanted to incorporate from articles, judgments, books etc in a document file. Then, I would rephrase it all adding my ideas and arguments and with all this understanding I would link my arguments to the facts.

Finally, structuring is very important. Correctly structuring the arguments so as to make them sound logical and in a flow and dividing issues into clear sub issues makes it very easy and interesting for a third person to read and understand. It is not important to fill your memo with a plethora of cases and articles. Although you cant really ignore them all, it is good to have a decent number of authorities, sufficient enough to make your memo look well researched. And i feel, footnoting is the best space to speak your mind, beautify your memo, and also reflect all the research you have done. It does create an impression.

Preeti: There were four issues given. We had a couple of elaborate discussions on the facts of the problem, that takes a lot of time and you tend to feel like you're wasting time, but that's not the case. We all have a tendency to Google the minute we finish reading the problem. But it's really important to understand what the problem actually is. At times your own logic is better than what Google can give, so give it a chance. Once we know what we want, this comes after thorough discussions and some self-thinking which might confuse and annoy you at the same time, however in the end it helps.

“At times your own logic is better than what Google can give, so give it a chance.”

4. What were the major roadblocks that you faced when working for the moot? How were you able    to overcome those road blocks?

Akriti: I had a difficulty in completing my arguments well in time and answering to the point. I used to fumble initially, talk at a very high rate of speech and I tend to forget long questions put to me while answering. Although I would not venture say I fully overcame it, but a lot of practice helped me improve it. We did some 10-15 demo moots rounds before leaving. We would time them, tried to answer as appropriately as possible and it helped.

Paresh: We were facing a lot of difficulties with respect to the Jurisdiction issue. We discussed with our faculty and our seniors who asked us to read couple of decisions by the Supreme Court which resolved our problem and we were good to go...!!

Preeti: Laziness of course!!! Though the pressure in our minds was immense, we buckled up and started meeting almost everyday. I personally had other other engagements and initially, more than working for any of these Ijust kept wondering what if I screw up all of them and disappoint people. Paresh and Akriti were really helpful, and since my ability to Google is not commendable compared to using my head I chose to work on the issue which related mainly to facts of the case. That worked well. So managing all the things was tough. But Hats off..!! We really worked for this. Sleepless nights, disturbed sleeps and unanswered calls and messages, all helped. Oh how can I forget, I made Akriti also get addicted to benedryl, cause we had problems sleeping.

PLEASE ASK FOR HELP. After you know the problem well, discuss with people. Professors, batch-mates, seniors, alumnus. This really helps. Don't think you're pestering them or that you know much better than them; don't let your ego take over you, just talk to them. People can be generous, so smart and that you never thought on those lines of arguments. So never hesitate.

Another important thing I have noticed, the enthusiasm one has while giving their names for the moot gradually dies down. So don't give up. Just make a memo and submit, but ensure you put your heart and soul into it.

“I made Akriti also get addicted to benedryl, cause we had problems sleeping.”

5. Which teams did you face in your journey to the finals? Which team was in your opinion the          toughest competitors and why?

Akriti: We faced Nirma University in the first prelims. In the quarter finals, we were against RMNLU Lucknow, in the semi's against Symbiosis Law School, Noida and in the finals we were against DSNLU Vishakahapatnam. I guess, Nirma university was our toughest competitor. Their memo and arguments were just a replica of ours. It was like we had a similar line of thought. even the references and quoted lines were similar. The speakers were well prepared. So I guess, they were a cut throat competition, and honestly I feel, they were one team capable of making their way to the finale.

Preeti: Let me tell you, the Symbiosis Noida team we faced had a fabulous etiquette, there are things to learn from them.

"Common sense is quite uncommon these days", its quite true from what I saw at the competition”

6. Any major takeaways of the prelims or quarters that helped you in the advanced rounds of the     competition?

Paresh: Our arguments got mature and better with every advancing rounds based on the questions we faced by the Judges.

Preeti: One thing I have noticed is that you have to be very attentive to what each speaker of the opposing team has got to say, more so what judges are asking both the teams. You build on your arguments from there. The moot problem we had was very interesting; it can have so many different angles, so it's always insightful to know how the other team has approached the problem. You'll realize either you are better than them or not. If you are not, you'll know what to do next. Though the memos have been submitted, in your orals you can add to the arguments in the memo by analysing how to fit in the new argument to yours.

And finally, it comes to 'Is your common sense in it's right place?'. As my dad keeps telling, c, we made sure our team was not that. Al you have to do is just trust your line of thinking, discuss with the team and there you are, you have some brilliant arguments.

“Taking deep breaths helped me personally”

7. How was your final Round Competition against DSNLU? What strategy did you adopt while    approaching the finals? Did you feel nervous or exited or were you relaxed?

Akriti: The final rounds were pretty interesting. We decided, not to do anything new and follow the approach we used before. We decided, not to modify anything and just put forward whatever and however we had prepared our arguments. We did not do any new experiments and continued our arguments like the way we thought initially.It was a mixed feeling. The fact that the event will be streamed live, it will be a constitutional bench with sitting SC and HC judges created some pressure. But at the same time, we were excited and looking forward to it. The feeling that we could manage to the finals, gave us confidence that we are on the right track and we just followed our heart and tried to give in our best."

Paresh: There was no nervousness, as I said earlier, our arguments were mature and got better with advancing rounds, so we were kind of relaxed even if we were having butterflies in our stomachs still we knew what we were supposed to do.

Preeti: We didn't have time for any feelings at all. It all happened so soon. Before we realize we have come till here the finals. You know, Luck also has a role in moots, I'm sure you'll agree. But what we were going through was a kind of "When luck meets preparation" scenario. We were lucky to be the petitioners. So we didn't have to worry. We had our arguments in place; we had to just stick to it. The fact that we have to argue before such a distinguished panel was scary, and that it was being live streamed! It is really important to keep your calm. Taking deep breaths helped me personally. Good thing about mooting is, you're facing five people and not the entire crowd which is behind you.

“Good thing about mooting is, you're facing five people and not the entire crowd which is behind you”

8. Describe the feeling of winning the moot competition just seconds after the Winners were    announced?

Akriti: Honestly, it wasn't as good as we thought. We were disappointed with the judges' criticism. But when we got to know that we have also won the best memo, cheered us up again. We had worked really hard for it and the victory did not come easy. But the fact that all our friends and family and faculty saw us live, saw us win, saw us argue, and all the feedback and appreciation they gave, made us feel really wonderful and happy. That was our real trophy.

Paresh: We were happy no doubt about that, but somewhere we felt more satisfied and content than being happy. All the hard work we put in was paying of in that moment.

Preeti: It was wonderful. Especially when we got the best memo as well.

“Mooting is no rocket science”

9. What advice will you give to the other mooters?

Akriti: It is very important to have a good team, and strategize every move. Consult your seniors, friends and faculty as much as you can. It is not a week's job. It requires atleast 1-2 months of your time. And it is no rocket science. We as an IP school are much better, logical and mature than a lot of other out there in the field. Practice your arguments at least 10-15 times before going.  Do as many demo moots as possible. Practice with different people so that you get different opinions and different kinds of questions that can be put. It prepares you for almost every kind of possible question. Do give a demo moot to 2-3 faculties before going. We just need to focus more and the sky is ours.

Paresh: I am sorry to mention here, there is no word like "Mooter" a lingo.

Anyway, the only advice I can give is - Take this exercise seriously and give more than 100% without focusing on the results. You will feel the ultimate satisfaction.

 10. And finally, describe your entire moot court competition experience in one sentence.

Akriti: Out of the world !!

Paresh: It was a content and relishing experience for all of us..

Preeti: If you are interested in litigation, you need to moot, to realize how good you are and how good you could be.

Thank you very much for talking with IIT Law Blog. Hope this will connect your experience with everyone. We wish you best of luck for future endeavours.

Cheers!!!!