IP arbitration gaining momentum in Australia for good reason

For many decades, the resolution of intellectual property (IP) disputes in Australia has, almost exclusively, been the province of the Federal Court. Globally, however, parties to IP disputes are increasingly considering and using arbitration as a means to resolve those disputes. We expect that trend will extend to Australia.

Arbitration has four key advantages for the resolution of IP disputes:

• speed and greater control over the timeline;
  
  
• the ability to select a decision-maker (or decision-makers) with suitable IP and technical (e.g. scientific) qualifications;
  
  
• confidentiality; and
  
  
• the ability to resolve disputes across multiple jurisdictions in a single forum instead of parallel litigation in different countries.