The Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ and IP CLUB have announced the launch of the 12th All-Russian Youth Competition on Information Technology and Intellectual Property Law, IP&IT LAW 2027.
The annual event is traditionally held under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and is recognized as one of Russia’s leading competitions in the field of information technology and intellectual property law. Its reputation has been confirmed by professional recognition: in 2018, the competition received the Runet Prize, and in 2024, it was officially recognized at the Digital Technologies and Law international conference held as part of the Kazan Digital Week International Forum.
This year, the competition’s format has been completely updated. For the first time, entries must consist of legal articles published in 2026 openly on online platforms, websites, or in open-access journals.
Starting this year, the competition will also have two main categories:
- for individual authors – licensed lawyers aged 35 or under;
- for companies – Russian organizations that support the professional publications of their lawyers and wish to submit one or two articles written by their employees.
General requirements for competition entries:
- topics: intellectual property, information technology, or the digital environment;
- focus: practical legal issues addressed through the application of legal doctrine, legislation, and judicial practice;
- restrictions: purely news-based or descriptive articles will not be accepted.
Special requirements by category:
- for individual authors:
- each participant may submit only one article;
- co-authorship is not permitted: the article must be written solely by the participant.
- for companies (corporate authors):
- an organization may submit one or two articles written by different employees aged 35 or under;
- co-authorship is permitted, provided that all authors are licensed lawyers aged 35 or under;
- mandatory: the article must be published with a clear indication of the author’s affiliation with the employing organization.
Competition entries will be evaluated by an independent jury comprising recognized experts and leading professionals in the legal field, including prominent legal scholars, partners at leading law firms, and practicing lawyers. The jury is chaired by IP CLUB President Marina Rozhkova; Director of the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ Andrey Vorobyev serves as co-chair of the jury for the individual author category.
The competition’s annual prize fund amounts to approximately one million rubles and includes cash prizes, professional training certificates, paid internships, and other valuable awards.
Applications are now open and will be accepted until February 1, 2027, 9:00 p.m. Moscow time.
The winners will be announced on April 5, 2027, and the award ceremony will take place in April 2027 during the opening of Intellectual Property Week.
The full competition rules, frequently asked questions, information on registration fees for corporate participants, and the application form can be found on the official IP&IT LAW 2027 competition website at https://ipclub.in/ip-it-law/.
