Low Cost Specialist IP Arbitration Service
The Code of Practice for pre-action conduct in intellectual property disputes provides at paragraph 6: "6. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION In all cases the parties should consider alternative means of settling their dispute, and, where appropriate, attempt to resolve the dispute without resorting to litigation. Examples of such means of alternative dispute resolution include: 6.1. dialogue which expressly or by its nature is without prejudice;; 6.2 determination by an independent expert (such as a lawyer experienced in intellectual property matters or an individual experienced in the subject matter of the claim) whose name and fees, along with the precise issues to be determined, will have been agreed by the parties in advance; 6.3 mediation; 6.4 arbitration (which carries statutory obligations)." Similarly, paragraph 4.7 of the Practice Direction Protocols advises parties to "consider whether some form of alternative dispute resolution procedure would be more suitable t...