infonet-economy

The growing importance of intellectual property assets in today’s economy and transnational business transactions, the complexities and disadvantages of intellectual property litigation before state courts as well as the attractiveness of ADR solutions as such (particularly in terms of confidentiality of expertise) explain why arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution systems (particularly mediation) are increasingly perceived as attractive methods for solving intellectual property disputes at the global level. This trend is also perceivable in Europe as a result of the new patent court system that shall be established on the basis of the recent adoption of the European Patent with Unitary Effect and of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court signed in February 2013 which will include the creation of a new patent mediation and arbitration center (which will have its seat in Lisbon and in Ljubljana). These developments make it necessary to analyze what are the traps and promises of the new patent arbitration and mediation landscape that will be available in Europe on the basis of this new regulatory environment.