NIPC News

Jane Lambert Most IP disputes arise out of conflicts between competitors and competition is what businesses do. In fact, businesses are compelled to compete by law. Disputes will therefore happen unless precautions are taken to avoid them. The risk of disputes can never be eliminated entirely because folk miscalculate and act emotionally but if a dispute cannot be avoided it can at least be managed. How Disputes arise and what can be done to prevent them Disputes arise because of uncertainty as to the existence, extent or nature of an IPR or because one party believes that the other lacks the means or will to enforce its rights or defend its interests. In order to minimize the first risk businesses should ensure that they have obtained appropriate legal protection for their most revenue generating intellectual assets. To minimize the second risk they should ensure that they had sufficient funding through insurance or otherwise to enforce their rights or defend the...

Jane Lambert Mediation can best be described as "chaired" or "facilitated" negotiation. It works because negotiations proceed through an intermediary known as "a mediator" who is often privy to information that neither party would disclose to the other. To show how mediation works I have uploaded two case histories: one on the resolution of a computer supply dispute  and the other a trade mark opposition  (see also  Mediating Disputes from the Trade Marks Registry   1 Sept 2005 NIPC Law). Both the courts and the Intellectual Property Office ( "IPO" ) hearing officers expect parties to consider mediation or some other form of alternative dispute resolution before issuing proceedings. Both have power to penalize parties who fail to do so by, for example, disallowing costs that they would normally have awarded to the successful party or awarding more costs than they would otherwise have ordered the unsuccessful party to pay. Th...