Singapore introduces default procedure for multi-party arbitration appointments

The Singapore government has amended its International Arbitration Act (SIAA) to introduce a default procedure for appointment of arbitrators in multi-party arbitrations.

The amendments also give Singapore-seated arbitral tribunals and the Singapore High Court the power to enforce confidentiality obligations.

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Litigation Funding: Third-party funding in international arbitration

While international arbitration spans multiple types of claims, overlapping jurisdictions and legal regimes, there are some commonalities to consider it an appropriate subject for a brief addendum within this guidebook’s framework. A practitioner considering a transaction involving third-party funding of international arbitration will need to consider multiple potentially relevant jurisdictions. For example, one might need to consider the applicable arbitral rules (if any), the law of the seat of the arbitration, the governing law of the underlying agreements, any applicable international treaties, the law of the jurisdiction in which the award will be enforced, and, potentially, the law of the parties’ counsels’ home jurisdictions. Accordingly, this addendum is necessarily limited and endeavours to highlight some of the issues and approaches that are common in the context of third-party funding and international arbitration.

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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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New 2021 Rules at the ICC, after the LCIA, and before the SIAC

Shortly after the entry into force of the revised Arbitration and Mediation Rules of the London Court of International Arbitration (the "LCIA") on 1 October 2020,[1] the International Chamber of Commerce (the "ICC") formally launched its amended Rules of Arbitration, 2021 (the “2021 Rules”) on 1 December 2020. This new version will enter into force on 1 January 2021 and apply to cases registered from this date. These changes have arisen in a very particular context and aim to align the ICC rules with current trends in arbitration and ICC practice (notably its Note to Parties and Arbitral Tribunals on the Conduct of the Arbitration[2]), as well as clarify the interpretation of certain already-existing rules.

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