In recent years, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the “WIPO Center”) has administered some 70 WIPO mediation cases relating to FRAND licensing negotiations. Under the WIPO Mediation Rules, the mediator facilitates licensing negotiations to help parties agree on FRAND licensing terms.
- Requests for WIPO Mediation relating to licensing negotiations between a patent pool administrator and implementers in relation to ongoing unsuccessful patent licensing negotiations. These cases included parties from 19 jurisdictions (50% of cases involved parties based in Asia including China, India, Japan and the Republic of Korea). Mediation requests prompted renewed licensing negotiations.
- IP courts in China have referred ten ICT patent infringement cases to WIPO Mediation. Seven of those cases involved claimants from Europe.
- In the course of litigation before a court in a EU Member State, a large Asian manufacturer submitted a unilateral request to WIPO Mediation concerning its SEP infringement litigation against a large European SEP holder.
The WIPO Center makes available tailored model submission agreements that parties may use to refer a dispute concerning the determination of fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms to WIPO Mediation, WIPO Arbitration, WIPO Expedited Arbitration or WIPO Expert Determination. The WIPO model submission agreements seek to ensure a cost- and time-effective FRAND determination and have been developed further to a series of consultations conducted by the WIPO Center with leading patent law, standardization and arbitration experts from a number of jurisdictions. The WIPO Center also took into account comments made by some members and the Secretariat of the European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI). The following options are available:
WIPO Mediation options:
- WIPO Mediation for FRAND Disputes
- In the absence of a mediation agreement: Unilateral Request for WIPO Mediation for FRAND Disputes
WIPO Arbitration options:
WIPO Expert Determination option:
Multi-tier model submission agreements:
- WIPO Mediation followed by Arbitration for FRAND Disputes
- WIPO Mediation followed by Expedited Arbitration for FRAND Disputes
The WIPO model submission agreements build on the standard WIPO Mediation, Arbitration, Expedited Arbitration and Expert Determination Rules and propose a set of optional FRAND-specific features. The WIPO model submission agreements can be adapted by parties in line with their needs. They also can be adapted for use in WIPO contract clauses. The WIPO Center is available to assist parties in such exercise upon request.
To facilitate submission of FRAND disputes to WIPO ADR, the WIPO Center has published the document WIPO ADR Options for FRAND Dispute Management and Resolution. It aims at helping parties and neutrals to understand and make use of procedural options that are available at difference stages of the process.
The WIPO Center maintains a special list of mediators, arbitrators and experts for patent standards.
The WIPO Center remains open to further develop WIPO model submission agreements in line with policy developments of standard setting organizations.
Contact us
WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (Geneva)
34, chemin des Colombettes
1211 Geneva 20
Switzerland
T +4122 338 8247
F +4122 740 370
WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (Singapore)
Maxwell Chambers
28 Maxwell Road #02-14
Singapore 069120
T +65 6225 2129
F +65 6225 3568
