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WIPO survey sheds light on alternative resolution mechanisms for B2B digital IP disputes
A recent survey conducted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is an eye-opener for innovators, indicating that while the global content market has grown to US$2.4 trillion, the number of specialised mechanisms for resolving B2B digital IP disputes have not caught up to market needs.
More than 60% of 1,000 participants (65% claimants and 45% defendants) from 129 countries were involved in business-to-business (B2B) digital copyright and content related disputes in the last five years.
While most of the copyright disputes were non-contractual and domestic in nature, the most frequent subject matters mentioned included software, musical works, advertising and literary works.
B2B digital copyright- and content-related disputes
The monetary value of the disputes ranged between US$10,000 and US$100,000 for 59% of the respondents, and remarkably, no monetary amount was involved for a significant 36% of respondents.
Amounts involved in respondent’s disputes
When looking at the outcome of disputes, the survey results show that the most common remedies pursued both by claimants and defendants were damages, followed by royalties.Common remedies pursued in disputes
Both contractual and non-contractual B2B digital copyright and content-related disputes frequently ended in settlements.
Common outcomes in disputes
In terms of dispute resolution mechanisms, court litigation in the respondent’s home jurisdiction was the most commonly used approach to resolve disputes. Given the nature of digital content, respondents indicated that the most frequent mechanism used for resolving non-contractual B2B digital copyright and content-related disputes was notice and takedown.
Dispute resolution mechanisms used to resolve disputes
Overall, the survey respondents’ perceptions of various mechanisms used to resolve B2B digital disputes were perceived as suitable. Based on survey respondents’ experience with each of these mechanisms, mediation, notice and takedown, arbitration and court litigation in a home jurisdiction were often perceived as suitable mechanisms.
Perception of dispute resolution mechanisms
The interviews additionally revealed that there were relatively few specialised mechanisms available for resolving B2B digital copyright and content-related disputes, or that stakeholders were unaware of such mechanisms.
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