UCL's Moot Team off to compete in the Inaugural WIPO International IP Law Moot

We are delighted to announce that UCL's Intellectual Property Moot Team will be competing in the ‘All Roads Lead To Geneva’ Inaugural WIPO IP Moot Court Competition which will take place in Geneva between 23rd and 26th of April 2025. 

The WIPO Moot marks a new and exciting addition to the international mooting calendar, focusing specifically on contemporary intellectual property law challenges. Following the written submissions stage, 17 teams were invited to participate in the online oral rounds. Of these, 12 teams have now advanced to the final in-person rounds in Geneva. 

The UCL team members, Kieran Yeo is a third year LLB student and Guanchen Zhou is an LLM student currently studying intellectual property law at UCL Laws. We extend hearty congratulations to Kieran and Guanchen on their selection for the oral amongst fierce competition. The UCL team, sponsored by the UCL Institute of Brand and Innovation Law (IBIL), has been coached by Professor Sir Robin Jacob (Director of IBIL), Dr Alina Trapova (Co-Director of IBIL) and Athina Stavrou, Research Assistant at IBIL.  

This year’s moot problem, Case Number 06/2025 Sango Traditional Arts Association v Makudo Investments Corporation (MIC), will be heard before the Continental Court of Justice of the Gondo Economic Community, the apex IP tribunal for a fictional regional economic community. The dispute centres on the rights of the Sango Traditional Arts Association, a cultural preservation body from the Kingdom of Mamba, and allegations against the Makudo Investments Corporation, a tech conglomerate based in neighbouring Azzania. 

The case raises complex and topical questions about the use of AI in art, digital copyright infringement, and the protection of indigenous cultural expressions. The claims include the alleged unlawful training of AI models using protected artistic works, unauthorised minting and sale of NFTs, and disputes over the fair use of culturally significant materials in the Metaverse. Teams will argue both sides of the dispute across four preliminary rounds, with top performers advancing to the knockout stages.

We wish our UCL team the very best as they prepare to tackle cutting-edge issues in IP law on the international stage.