WIPO ADR Stories: Resolving Foreign-Related IP Disputes Pending before Courts in Shanghai through WIPO Mediation

The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Shanghai Service was established in October 2019 in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. It is the first foreign arbitral institution approved by the Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China to be engaged in arbitration and mediation of foreign-related IP dispute cases in China.

In July 2020, with the approval of the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China, the Shanghai High People’s Court started to refer foreign-related IP disputes to the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Shanghai Service. In October 2021, WIPO and the Shanghai High People’s Court concluded a Memorandum of Understanding concerning cooperation on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the area of IP, expanding the number of courts able to refer cases to the Shanghai Service from two to six.

At present, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Shanghai Service has received 50 mediation cases referred by courts, with a settlement rate of almost 40 per cent, welcome and supported by both Chinese and foreign parties. Legal areas cover various kinds of IP (Table 1). Parties involved in these cases are from 12 countries (Table 2).

Table 1: Legal Area

Table 2: Party Location

The Supreme People’s Court has provided positive feedback to the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Shanghai Service on the collaboration between WIPO and courts in Shanghai concerning mediation of foreign-related IP disputes.  The Shanghai High People’s Court has informed the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Shanghai Service that this collaboration provides a new route for resolving foreign-related IP disputes and has great significance in the establishment of a diversified international IP dispute resolution mechanism.

For more information on WIPO mediation for IP and technology disputes pending before courts in China, visit this page.

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