WIPO, Geneva, Switzerland, Monday and Tuesday, May 21 and 22, 2012
Faculty
 |
 |
|---|---|
| Professor Robert H. Mnookin, Samuel Williston Professor of Law at Harvard Law School | Professor Gary J. Friedman, co-founder and co-director of the Center for Understanding in Conflict, Mill Valley, California |
Overview
For many companies, intellectual property has become an essential business asset as well as a means of creating value. It is being exploited on an increasingly international level in various forms of collaborative arrangements, such as licenses, technology transfer agreements and R&D agreements. As a consequence, parties increasingly look for dispute resolution mechanisms that match their business requirements: private procedures which would provide efficient, flexible and less costly means of settling international disputes without disrupting commercial relationships.
Many, although not all, intellectual property disputes have characteristics that favor the use of mediation. Where such disputes arise in the context of an existing business relationship, such as that created by a license, franchise, distributorship, research and development contract, manufacturing arrangement, publishing or film production contract, mediation offers a non confrontational procedure for dispute resolution, which can be conducive to the maintenance or further development of the business relationship. Realizing that mediation is low-risk and cost-effective, parties are increasingly agreeing to make referral to arbitration or court litigation conditional on having previously attempted to resolve their dispute by means of mediation. In a parallel development, many states require that disputes be submitted to mediation before access to courts is granted.
WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center offers Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) options, in particular arbitration, mediation and expert determination, for the resolution of international commercial disputes between private parties. As part of its efforts to promote ADR options, and in order to meet increasing demand for training in those areas, the Center organizes every year, inter alia, a WIPO Workshop for Mediators in Intellectual Property Disputes.
Description
The WIPO Workshop for Mediators in Intellectual Property Disputes is an intensive two-day training course in the techniques of mediation, emphasizing effective communication and increased understanding. The Workshop is based on lectures and simulated mediation exercises in the intellectual property field. Participants take active part in the exercises, which are carried out in small groups.
Participants will be expected to have a basic understanding of intellectual property in general and mediation in particular. In this connection, reading material will be provided to registered participants ahead of the program. Proficiency in English is essential for participation.
Who Should Attend?
The Workshop is designed for lawyers, business executives, patent and trademark attorneys and others wishing to familiarize themselves with the mediation process and to receive training as mediators. It provides an introduction to mediation in the intellectual property area, with focus on the appropriate role(s) of both parties and their lawyers in a mediation and on specific mediation techniques.
Faculty
| Professor Robert H. Mnookin | Professor Gary J. Friedman |
|---|---|
| Samuel Williston Professor of Law at Harvard Law School | Co-founder and co-director, of the Center for Understanding in Conflict formerly known as the Center for Mediation in Law in Mill Valley, California |
| Professor Mnookin joined the Harvard Law School in 1993 after over twenty years on the Faculties of Stanford Law School and the University of California, Berkeley, Law School, and clerking with Judge Carl McGowan and Justice Harlan. He teaches and writes in the areas of dispute resolution. Professor Mnookin has applied his interdisciplinary approach in conflict resolution to a number of commercial disputes. He served, for example, as an arbitrator from 1985 to 1997 in a landmark dispute between IBM and Fujitsu concerning operating systems software. He has written numerous articles and eight books, including Beyond Winning: Negotiating to Create Value in Deals and Disputes and Barriers to Conflict Resolution, each of which won the Book Prize from the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution. His latest book is Bargaining with the Devil: When to Negotiate, When to Fight. | Professor Friedman is the co-founder and co-director of the Center for Understanding in Conflict formerly known as the Center for Mediation in Law in Mill Valley, California. He has practiced law since 1970, serving, since 1976, primarily as a mediator of commercial and family disputes with Mediation Law Offices in Mill Valley. He has conducted introductory, intermediate and advanced training programs in mediation and mediative approaches to the practice of law throughout the United States since 1979, and in Europe since 1989. Author of numerous publications on mediation, Professor Friedman has taught negotiation and mediation at various law schools and continuing legal education programs throughout the United States including, more recently, through the Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation. He is the author of numerous publications, including a book entitled Challenging Conflict: the Understanding-based Model of Mediation, published by the American Bar Association in cooperation with the Harvard Program on Negotiation. |
Certificate of Participation (including for CLE/CPD)
All participants who complete the program will be awarded a certificate of participation. Those who have applied for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) or Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credit will receive a special certificate for this purpose.
Program Information
| Venue | Timetable | Language |
|---|---|---|
| WIPO Headquarters, Geneva, | The program will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the first day and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the second. A cocktail will be offered on the first evening | English |
Registration and Fee
| Participation | Registration Fee | Cancellations | How to apply |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participation in the Workshop will be limited to 28 persons | 2,200 Swiss Francs (includes materials, coffee and lunches) | The registration fee paid to WIPO will be refunded only for cancellations received before May 10, 2012 | Please send an e-mail indicating your interest to arbiter.meetings@wipo.int |
Hotel Accommodation and Other Useful Information
Information is available at https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/events/practical-information/.
Contact Details
WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
34, chemin des Colombettes 1211 Geneva 20
Switzerland
T +4122 338 8247
F +4122 740 8337
E arbiter.meetings@wipo.int
W www.wipo.int/amc/
Other Events Organized by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
- WIPO Arbitration Workshop
October 18 and 19, 2012, Singapore - WIPO Advanced Workshop on Domain Name Dispute Resolution: Overview of Precedent and Practice
October 23 and 24, 2012, Geneva
Further information is available at www.wipo.int/amc/en/events/
.