April 2021 Moot Court Proposition for ProMooters

on
Intellectual Property Law

Disclaimer: The contents of this moot problem are entirely fictional and
this problem is drafted exclusively for the use of ProMooters Moot Court
Competition.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

1. Karan and Yasha launched their music streaming app MikMok in

2019 when they were in their first year of college at Delhi
University. However, their user base expanded manifold during the
government mandated lockdown in 2020 due to the pandemic.

2. Excited about the prospect of continued growth in 2021, Karan and

Yasha sought outside investment and expanded their operations in
MikMok by introducing subscription based packages in addition to
the free access model they had been following since their launch.

3. The updated MikMok app has been widely advertised on social

media from November 2020 onwards with a launch of the updated
features scheduled to be introduced on 15th April, 2021. One such
advertisement is reproduced below:

MikMok lets you

● Stream your favorite Bollywood tracks from thousands

of songs in MikMok’s library
● Create your own 15 second videos using a wide range
of songs, from Bollywood to folk
● ​Share your MikMok videos on WhatsApp
● Organize online live gigs with family, friends, and
friends of friends

4. A famous singer was also roped in as their brand ambassador which

greatly boosted the pre-booking numbers for MikMok’s subscription
for the soon to be launched updated features.
5. MikMok successfully negotiated a three-year license with a copyright
collecting society of owners of sound recordings called SRO, but was
shocked to receive a legal notice from a copyright collecting society
of music composers and lyricists called MLO, on 10 February, 2021
wherein MLO demanded, inter alia, that MikMok take a 5 year
license from it promptly, failing which it must take down all songs in
its repertoire.

6. MikMok responded to MLO’s legal notice on 20 February, 2021 and

denied MLO’s claim for a license. MikMok also filed caveats before
the courts in Delhi. Songs in MLO’s repertoire remain available on
MikMok.

7. Based on MikMok’s advertisements, MLO has now filed a lawsuit

against MikMok and its directors, Karan & Yasha, seeking to restrain
use of its repertoire by MikMok before the Delhi High Court. MLO
has also filed an application seeking an ad interim injunction
restraining MikMok from exploiting its repertoire till the final
disposal of the lawsuit.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION​: -

a) The participants will be preparing the memorial on behalf of Plaintiff

and Defendants. The participants are expected to identify interim as
well as other issues and argue all the applicable issues.
 Calendar of events

Event Date & Time Details

Memorial 31st March 2021 Memorial has to be filled online on

submission promooters.com. Please note that there is no
deadline 11:59 pm word count for the memorial. However the
(for both memorial should be short and concise but
plaintiff and must include all relevant information.
defendant)
Whatever has been filled in on or before the
deadline will be considered as your
submission. You will not have access to the
memorial post the deadline. Incomplete
memorials will be disqualified.

Oral Rounds - 10th April 2021 Each participant will be provided 15 minutes
Qualifiers Saturday to present their arguments. 5 minutes will be
allocated for questions by the Judge.
9 am to 7 pm
(exact time will Not signing in using the link emailed to the
be sent post required platform at the required time entails
memorial disqualification.
submission)

Oral Rounds - 11th April 2021 Each participant will be provided 15 minutes
Challengers Sunday to present their arguments and 5 minutes for
rebuttal. 5 minutes will be allocated for
9 am to 1 pm questions by the Judge.
(exact time will
be sent post Not signing in using the link emailed to the
memorial required platform at the required time entails
submission) disqualification.

Oral Rounds - 11th April 2021 Each participant will be provided 20 minutes
Finals to present their arguments and 5 minutes for
4 pm to 6 pm rebuttal. 5 minutes will be allocated for
(exact time will questions by the Judge.
be sent post
memorial Not signing in using the link emailed to the
submission) required platform at the required time entails
disqualification.

*All participants will receive e-certificates for participation. Winners & Runners
up will receive rank certificates.