China has a comprehensive and integrated legal framework for trademark protection based on domestic legislation as well as international IP treaties and conventions. The Trademark Law and its Implementing Regulations are the primary sources of law on trademark protection. The Trademark Law entered into force in 1983 and underwent amendments in 1993, 2001, 2013 and 2019 respectively.
Read moreWhen can an arbitration tribunal's competence be challenged?
The Constitution guarantees the administration of justice, allowing parties to resolve disputes before a judicial body. However, certain subjective rights can be waived in order to choose an alternative dispute resolution mechanism, such as commercial arbitration, provided that such rights are not rights of public order or social interest (eg, the alimony that a minor is entitled to receive).
Read moreSignificant Workplace Changes in Store under the Biden Administration
From pay equity to an increased minimum wage, pro-worker and pro-union labor policies, and additional anti-discrimination protections, President-elect Biden has touted support for numerous legislative and regulatory proposals that would significantly change the employment and labor law landscape. Bolstered by Democrat victories in the Georgia Senate runoff elections (and the resulting unified Congress, the first in nine years), employers can expect new and amended workplace laws and rules in 2021. We highlight below several of the initiatives the Biden administration is likely to prioritize.
Read moreThe Benefits Of More Alternative Dispute Resolution At GAO
In late December, the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued its highly anticipated Bid Protest Annual Report to Congress.[1] The statutorily mandated report contains an array of information about the GAO's bid protest forum over the prior fiscal year, including the most prevalent reasons the GAO sustained protests along with a variety of statistical data.
Read moreNew mediation pilot to support landlords and renters
A new mediation pilot will be introduced next month with a view to supporting landlords and renters who face court procedures and potential eviction, the government has announced. Helping to resolve disputes through mediation will enable courts to prioritise urgent cases, supporting landlords and tenants to resolve issues quickly without the need for a formal hearing.
Read moreDifferent Types Of Conflict In The Workplace
Workplace conflict is something every business will face at some stage. In recent years, it has become something of an epidemic, with 85% of employees reporting workplace conflict on some level.
It is not just in the interest of employees to resolve the conflict but for business owners too. The cost of conflict is immense, with an estimated $359 billion in paid hours lost to workplace conflict every year.
To resolve workplace conflict, it is important to know about the different types of conflict, how they differ and how to approach each type of conflict.
Read moreIs your mediator accredited?
Conflict Resolution Service (CRS) has been providing dispute resolution services to the Canberra community for more than 30 years and continues to ensure its staff are qualified and accredited by the Mediator Standards Board in family dispute resolution. CRS chief executive officer Melissa Haley says knowing your mediator is qualified before beginning the mediation process is crucial.
Read moreADR Solutions for a World Reordered By Pandemic - Remote Is Closer Than You Think
The clearest lesson of the pandemic is that we are all connected. Supply chains and the movement of goods and people by air, land and water mean we are all part of a huge interactive web.
Now, businesses around the world are trying to combat the multiple impacts of covid-19, economic peril and, in the USA, racial injustice. Just as the challenges and new issues mount, the courts have had to cope with slowdowns and lockdowns. In an astoundingly quick transition, ADR providers and neutrals have shifted focus to providing dispute resolution services remotely online. They have issued protocols and set up processes, and many online mediations and arbitrations have already been conducted to a positive reception by many prior sceptics. Delay and backlog do not have to hamper an economic recovery that depends in part on cost-effective and efficient dispute resolution taking place now. We knew that businesses with cross-border disputes would require better and less expensive ways to address both routine and bet-the-company disputes, but the need is not yet being fully met. Help is at hand. An arb-med-arb process resulting in a consent award is a solution to an expressed need and it can happen right now (even remotely) before the long process of approval wends its way to completion for the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements resulting from Mediation (Singapore Convention).
Read moreGig Workers Must Opt Out of Arbitration to Enforce Prop 22 Benefits, Rights Group Says
Proposition 22 in California offers some benefits to workers, but Rideshare Drivers United says Terms of Service forcing private arbitration will prevent them from being enforced.After Proposition 22 passed in California, gig work apps such as Uber and DoorDash began offering some benefits to workers. The benefits promise driver pay that is 120 percent of the state’s minimum wage, along with a healthcare stipend and expense coverage, though they still fall short of traditional employment.
Read moreInternational Court of Arbitration opens case management office in Abu Dhabi
The International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Court) is opening a case management office for the ICC Court Secretariat located in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
Read moreHiring Tips for a Multigenerational Workforce: From Baby Boomers to Gen Z
Generational differences influence how people communicate, think and work. There are four active generations in the workforce in 2021, each with unique characteristics and worldviews. For business owners and managers, it's vital to understand the characteristics of each generation, including what motivates them and their communication style, so you can successfully utilize the talents your multigenerational workforce offers to benefit your organization and other employees.
Read moreThe International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has announced record requests in 2020 for its arbitration and ADR services.
The world’s preferred arbitral institute, the ICC International Court of Arbitration recorded a total of 946 new arbitration cases in 2020 – the highest number of cases registered since 2016, when a complex cluster of small disputes effectuated a marked increase in the statistics.
Read moreArbitration 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.
Read moreCourt Rejects Bid to Move BIPA Case to Binding Arbitration, Declining to Enforce Arbitration Clause in Terms of Service
CPW has previously covered how companies can proactively use binding arbitration agreements to manage litigation risk-including in the context of data privacy litigation. But as a biometric software developer just learned, if you’re not a signatory to the agreement, you better make sure the arbitration clause is drafted broadly enough to cover you to avoid litigating Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) claims in court. Last week in Sosa v. Onfido, Inc., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 658 (N.D. Ill.), a judge in the Northern District of Illinois refused to motion to compel arbitration for litigation brought under BIPA, finding that the arbitration agreement did not cover the defendant. Read on below.
Read moreThe New Federal Out-of-Network Statute
As part of the recently enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the "Appropriations Act"), the federal government did not only provide relief to stem the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it also adopted the No Surprises Act.
Read moreWhat the ICC and LCIA rule changes mean for international arbitration in 2021
Following Brexit, international arbitration has become an even more appealing option for dealing with cross-border disputes, as discussed in a recent article. At least until the post-Brexit recognition and enforcement regime becomes clearer, parties may be inclined to take the arbitration route when it is available.
The London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) are two of the big players in cross-border arbitration – and both have made rule changes recently. These modifications may make arbitration more attractive, especially in the somewhat uncertain world in which we now find ourselves.
Read moreOntario, Canada: Arbitrator Upholds Mandatory Employee COVID Testing
In Christian Labour Association of Canada v. Caressant Care Nursing & Retirement Homes (D. Randall), a union filed a group grievance on behalf of a number of its members working at an Ontario retirement home to challenge the reasonableness of a policy imposing bi-weekly COVID testing on all staff. In a December 9, 2020 decision, the arbitrator dismissed the grievance on the basis that the policy is reasonable when the privacy intrusion is weighed against the objective of preventing the spread of COVID in the retirement home.
Read moreAgents back new Mediation scheme between landlords and tenants
Propertymark has thrown its weight behind an idea from Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick to create a mediation service to arbitrate in disputes between tenants and landlords.
The concept of mediation - to be tested out in a pilot project next month - came up in the government announcement of an extension of the bailiff-enforced eviction ban.
Read moreOptimistic outlook for mediation
Courts and tribunals may have been slow to move to remote working after being closed during the first lockdown period, but when it came to mediation the process was able to instantly adapt.
“I’d always done mediation in person and was a firm believer that you needed to be in the room with people,” Mr Hossack says. “Before we went into the pandemic I’d done a couple of phone mediations and was a bit sceptical thinking it wouldn’t be the same because it was disembodied voices, but in fact it worked out pretty well. Since the pandemic I’ve done six virtual mediations as the mediator and I’m quite sold on it.”
Read moreNo Surprises: Congress Enacts Surprise Bill Law and Adds Mandatory Billing Transparency
The recently enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “Act”) not only funds the government and provides further relief in regard to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it also adopted a number of new substantive laws. We summarize below two key categories of new substantive law contained in the Act: (1) the prohibition on surprise medical billing; and (2) requirements related to price transparency.
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