Are you for real? Litigation is still the preferred form of dispute resolution for IP/IT contracts

In a recent international survey of over 350 respondents from 62 countries, licence agreements (especially those concerning patents) are the main culprits in terms of giving rise to disputes.

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) surveyed 350 businesses from 62 countries in industries such as IT, consumer goods and biotechnology. While respondents said they saw a trend towards resolving disputes out of court (29% said they tried mediation before going to court), the two most common methods to resolve disputes were litigation in the respondent's home country, or litigation in another country. Arbitration came a distant third.

Respondents said the main considerations when negotiating dispute resolution clauses were costs, time, enforceability, quality of outcome (including expertise of the decision-maker), neutral forum and confidentiality.