Arbitration of intellectual property and licensing disputes

Rights holders have traditionally turned to court litigation to protect IP rights such as patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets – or to enforce IP licensing agreements. This brings certain challenges, such as a public forum, unfamiliar laws and procedures, judges with varying IP law expertise, concern for national interests, and the risk that a judgment cannot be enforced in other jurisdictions. Arbitration offers an alternative mechanism and has a number of advantages, including confidentiality, a neutral forum or a single forum, the ability to select arbitrators with technical expertise, symmetrical risk for licensors, and cross-border enforceability of arbitral awards. This chapter considers the viability and desirability of arbitration as a means of resolving cross-border IP and IP-related disputes with a focus on Asia.

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Amazon-Future row: Singapore's arbitration court forms 3-member panel to pass final verdict

Amid ongoing arbitration battle between US-based Amazon and Kishore Biyani-led Future Retail, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) on Tuesday formed a three-member panel to pass its final verdict on Future Group's Rs 24,713 crore deal with Reliance Industries Ltd. Both the parties have reportedly agreed to the names of the three-member arbitration tribunal required for the arbitration process, which is expected to start over the next fortnight.

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