National Blog Writing Competition 2026 by NLIU-DPIIT IPR Chair, NLIU Bhopal [Cash Prizes Rs 9,000]

The NLIU-DPIIT IPR Chair at the National Law Institute University, Bhopal is organising the first edition of the National Blog Writing Competition, 2026, on the theme “Contemporary Issues in Intellectual Property Law”. The competition invites participants to move beyond merely describing established laws, doctrines and institutional practices, and to critically examine the assumptions underlying them.

It aims to foster critical research, innovative thinking and engagement with emerging IPR issues, including artificial intelligence, copyright, patents, biotechnology, traditional knowledge and digital technologies. The brochure states that the competition will also promote IP awareness and give participants opportunities for publication, recognition, cash prizes and internships. Registration and submission are made online through the Chair’s Google Form.

The National Law Institute University (NLIU), Bhopal was established in 1997 and is recognised by the University Grants Commission and the Bar Council of India. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, has established an Intellectual Property Rights Chair at NLIU under the Scheme for Pedagogy & Research in IPRs for Holistic Education and Academia (SPRIHA), aligned with the National IPR Policy.

The Chair promotes IPR education, research and outreach, organises seminars and workshops, and seeks to bridge the gap between academia and industry while raising public awareness of the benefits of IP rights.

Theme: Contemporary Issues in Intellectual Property Law. The sub-themes are:

• Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Rights
• Copyright in the Digital and Generative AI Era
• Emerging Issues in Patent Law and Innovation
• Trademarks, Branding and Digital Markets
• Traditional Knowledge, Cultural Expressions and Biodiversity
• Geographical Indications and Community Rights
• Intellectual Property, Public Health and Access to Medicines
• Intellectual Property, Climate Change and Sustainable Development
• Intellectual Property, Technology and Emerging Digital Technologies
• Global Intellectual Property Governance and Emerging Challenges

The competition is open to law students, academicians, researchers and legal professionals from all fields of law. The brochure lists a single registration category, Single Author.

• Word limit: 1,000 to 2,500 words, inclusive of footnotes. Strict adherence to the word limit is highly advised.
• Nature of manuscript: entries must be highly analytical, with the author arriving at a definite conclusion on the subject matter.
• Originality: submissions must be original and unpublished, and must not have been previously published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere.
• Citations: OSCOLA 4th Edition; only footnotes may be used as a form of citation, and substantive footnoting is not permitted.

• Plagiarism: all manuscripts are checked with plagiarism software; plagiarism below 10% is permitted, and manuscripts with significant plagiarism are rejected immediately.
• AI content: submissions must contain 0% AI-generated content and be entirely written by the participant.
• Data integrity: fabrication or falsification of data leads to rejection and potential reporting to the author’s institution.
• Authors must disclose any potential conflict of interest, give proper authorship credit, and acknowledge all individuals and organisations that supported the research.

The registration fee is Rs 300 for a single author. Registration must be completed through the prescribed registration form, and no registration is valid without payment of the prescribed fee.

Register and submit your blog through the official registration and submission form (a Google Form, which asks you to sign in to a Google account) by 11:59 PM on 18 October 2026. Results will be declared in the last week of November 2026.