Arbitration and mediation
Litigation alone rarely resolves a multi-national IP dispute. For this reason we assist our clients at every stage to consider alternatives to litigation, whether a formal arbitration, a mediation or a negotiated settlement. We believe that many disputes can be settled by ADR, even where there is no pre-existing agreement in place and can lead to outcomes which court proceedings cannot deliver. IP disputes do have certain unique aspects which mean that standard arbitral rules are not always suitable, but we have considerable experience of guiding our clients in designing more bespoke mechanisms for resolving patent and other IP disputes.
We have two qualified mediators among our ranks, as well as extensive experience in representing clients in mediations and arbitrations under various rules (including LCIA, ICC and WIPO). Where cases require expertise on procedure or law in other jurisdictions, our international reach allows us to tap into market-leading advisers around the globe.
Examples of our ADR experience include:
Representing an electronics patent holder in successful mediation with major retailers resulting in multi-million pound royalty payments and future contractual dispute resolution mechanism.
Acting for multinational heavy industrial company in relation to ICC arbitration relating to trade secret use in industrial installation.
Representation in mediation of agrochemical company defending multi-million Euro claim arising from jointly developed regulatory data. Mediation resulted in mutually beneficial future commercial relationship without the need for financial compensation.
Advising FMCG client and designing multi-tiered dispute resolution mechanism for future global patent disputes with competitor under modified WIPO rules.
Representing an Australian biotechnology company in an LCIA arbitration over the payment of royalties due under a patent licence covering sales of a blockbuster product.
Acting for a biotechnology company in an ICC arbitration of a global settlement agreement in relation to research tool products.
Advising on an arbitration, under an ad hoc procedure, relating to a dispute over the royalties due on sales of a licensed pharmaceutical product.
Representing a software company in successful mediation to settle litigation with a customer regarding breach of contract (software licence) and copyright infringement.
Representing a software company in an LCIA arbitration arising from a software licence/development agreement.
Representing a multi-national biotech company in a mediation relating to the settlement of patent infringement proceedings.