In 2021, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center saw a 44.5% increase in its annual IP ADR caseload. In total, the WIPO Center received 163 mediation, arbitration and expedited arbitration cases and 100 good offices requests.

These WIPO cases involved multinationals (46%), SMEs, including startups, creators and innovators (41%), and Collective Management Organization (CMOs) (12%), with parties coming from all regions, notably Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. Disputes involved a broad range of IP related areas, with copyright (41%), patents (37%), and trademarks (16%) most common. The main business areas in the cases were digital copyright, ICT, life sciences and mechanical patents. Particular increases concerned mediation requests in FRAND disputes, copyright disputes (especially through the co-administration collaboration with INDAUTOR, Mexico), and international IP disputes referred by the Chinese courts.

68% of WIPO cases included parties from different jurisdictions. Cases were administered in multiple languages, including Chinese, English, French, Korean, and Spanish.

There was a marked increase in the use of WIPO Online Case Administration Tools, including the WIPO Center's eADR online case management platform, by parties to facilitate their mediation and arbitration procedures, essential in light of the prevailing travel restrictions and social distancing guidance. In 2021, the settlement rate in WIPO mediations reached 75%.

In 2021, trademark owners filed a record 5,128 cases with the WIPO Center under the WIPO-initiated Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), eclipsing the previous year by 22%. This strong demand pushed WIPO cybersquatting cases to a total of almost 56,000; the number of domain names covered since the start of this WIPO service surpassed the 100,000 mark.

The strong growth can be largely attributed to the greater number of people spending more time online, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, with trademark owners reinforcing their online presence to offer authentic content and trusted sales outlets to Internet users. Representing 75% of WIPO's generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) caseload, .COM demonstrated its continuing relevance. 

WIPO UDRP cases in 2021 involved parties from 132 countries. The U.S., with 1,760 cases filed, France (938), the U.K. (450), Switzerland (326), and Germany (251) were the top five filing countries.

The WIPO Center's dispute resolution services for country code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs) also continued to grow, with the addition of .BH and البحرين. (Bahrain) and .SA and السعودية. (Saudi Arabia) in 2021. The WIPO Center now provides dispute resolution services to over 80 ccTLDs.

The WIPO Center widened its outreach to stakeholder audiences in 2021, organizing or contributing to 114 webinars with some 22,500 registrants from over 150 countries, delivered in Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Spanish.

Highlights included three WIPO Mediation and Arbitration Workshops, in English and Spanish, led by a faculty of WIPO mediators and arbitrators, industry professionals and WIPO Center lawyers, and webinars on WIPO Domain Name Dispute Resolution Services for .AU, as well as for .CH. Available webinar recordings and presentations, as well as the list of upcoming events, can be accessed on the WIPO Center's website.

The WIPO Center’s LinkedIn page in 2021 surpassed 10,000 followers and the WIPO ADR Highlights Newsletter reached +8,250 subscribers. The WIPO Mediation Pledge achieved +700 subscribers from +100 countries and is supported by +30 national IP and Copyright Offices and IP and ADR industry associations. To enhance ADR and IP engagement with this community, the WIPO Center launched WIPO ADR Young, which already has +600 members from +80 countries. Additionally, the WIPO Center has commenced a new podcast series, WIPOD – Arbitration and Mediation Matters, accessible on various streaming platforms.

The WIPO Center expanded its collaboration with Member States’ IP and Copyright Offices and Courts in relation to ADR for IP and technology disputes, covering awareness-raising among stakeholders and assisting Offices with ADR case administration (including co-administration, training of neutrals and online tools).

In 2021, the WIPO Center established new initiatives with the Algerian National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI), the Companies and Intellectual Property Authority of Botswana (CIPA), the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria (BPO), the Patents and Designs Registry of Nigeria, and the Trademarks Registry of Nigeria.  ADR arrangements were also concluded between WIPO and the Shanghai High People’s Court. The WIPO Center now collaborates with 57 such national entities.

• General information
• Calculate your case fees
• WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions
• WIPO Legal Index of Decisions
• File and manage your case

• WIPO Mediation, Arbitration, Expedited Arbitration and Expert Determination Rules and Clauses
• Resolving IP and Technology Disputes through WIPO ADR: Getting Back to Business
• Guide to WIPO Mediation
• Guide to WIPO Arbitration
• Guide to WIPO’s Services for Country Code Top-level Domain Registries
• More WIPO Center publications

• WIPO-CII Webinar: Alternative Dispute Resolution for IP and Technology Disputes (December 16, 2021)
• Online WIPO Mediation and Arbitration Workshop (December 8-10, 2021)
• WIPO-Malaysian Bar Webinar: Time for Change: Mediation and Arbitration as Tools in Diffusing IP and Tech Disputes (November 30, 2021)
• Webinar: ADR Mechanisms for B2B Digital Copyright and Content-Related Disputes: Presentation of the Results of the WIPO-MCST Survey (November 18, 2021)
• Online WIPO Mediation and Arbitration Workshop (November 9-11, 2021)
• WIPO-CAM Webinar: Brand Advertising e Marketing: gestire i rischi con la mediazione (in Italian) (November 3, 2021)