WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center – Yearly Review 2022
 
WIPO|ADR
WIPO ADR Highlights 2022
JANUARY 19, 2023
 
 
WIPO IP ADR Caseload Jumps Again
In 2022, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center saw a 105% increase in its IP alternative dispute resolution (ADR) caseload. In total, the WIPO Center received 548 mediation, arbitration, expedited arbitration and good offices requests.
 
 
  • Particular increases concerned mediation requests in copyright disputes (especially through the co-administration collaboration with the national Copyright Offices of Colombia and Mexico), FRAND-related disputes, and international IP disputes referred by Chinese courts.
  • Disputes involved a broad range of IP areas, with copyright (72%), trademarks (12%), and patents (8%) most common.
  • These WIPO cases involved SMEs, including startups, creators and innovators (46%), collective management organizations (22%), multinationals (16%), and other entities, including universities and R&D centers (16%) with parties coming from all regions, notably Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America.
  • The main business sectors in cases were creative industries, ICT, life sciences, and mechanical processes/equipment.
  • Procedures were conducted in multiple languages, including Chinese, English, French, Korean, and Spanish.
  • In most cases parties used WIPO Online Case Administration Tools, including the WIPO Center's eADR online case management platform and videoconferencing systems. The necessary use of online tools occasioned by pandemic restrictions in 2020 and 2021 continued through 2022 at the convenience of the parties.
 
WIPO Domain Name Dispute Resolution Record Filing
In 2022, trademark owners filed a record 5,764 cases with the WIPO Center under the WIPO-initiated Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), eclipsing the previous year by 12.4%. This rise made for a 56% aggregate increase since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, signaling a continued shift to online activity and the corresponding need for online vigilance. The strong demand pushed WIPO cybersquatting cases to a total of over 61,000; the number of domain names covered since the start of this WIPO service surpassed the 110,000 mark.
 
 
  • The strong growth can be largely attributed to the greater number of people spending more time online since 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 2022 involved parties from 132 countries. The US, with 2,051 cases filed, France (1,207), the UK (459), Switzerland (314), and Germany (257) were the top five filing countries.
  • The WIPO Center's dispute resolution services for country code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs) continued to grow, with the addition of .SN (Senegal) in 2022. The WIPO Center now provides dispute resolution services to over 80 ccTLDs.
 
Expanding WIPO ADR Engagement
The WIPO Center expanded its outreach in 2022, organizing or contributing to some 120 virtual, hybrid or in-person events with nearly 20,000 registrants from over 150 countries, delivered in Chinese, English, French, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. Available webinar recordings and presentations, as well as the list of upcoming events, can be accessed on the WIPO Center’s website.
 


Highlights included: 
  • two online WIPO Mediation and Arbitration Workshops with a total of 1,900 registrants, led by a faculty of WIPO mediators and arbitrators, industry professionals and WIPO Center lawyers;
  • an in-person WIPO Advanced Workshop on Domain Name Dispute Resolution: Update on Precedent and Practice, that took place in Geneva, Switzerland, together with the Annual WIPO Domain Name Panelists Meeting, which included 120 panelists from around the world;
  • a Side Event at the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights presenting an Update on WIPO ADR for Digital Copyright- and Content-related Disputes, and a Side Event at the WIPO Assemblies on WIPO ADR for IPOs and Courts;
  • a WIPO Seminar on ADR for Life Sciences Disputes Management and Resolution, where the WIPO ADR Options for Life Sciences Dispute Management and Resolution publication was released, as part of WIPO’s COVID-19 related services and support;
  • an online Workshop for SMEs with 1,800 registrants, supported by 19 national IP and Copyright Offices and industry associations from countries in Latin America and Spain;
  • several virtual training sessions in the context of WIPO’s World IP Day 2022: Youth Innovating for a Better Future, with over 1,000 young inventors, creators and entrepreneurs registered;
  • online training programs for IP and women entrepreneurs; and
  • a number of webinars and events on digital copyright (including NFTs and the metaverse, video games and eSports), FRAND disputes, life sciences, and R&D.
The WIPO Center’s LinkedIn page in 2022 surpassed 14,000 followers and the WIPO ADR Highlights Newsletter reached 8,500+ subscribers. The WIPO Mediation Pledge surpassed 860 signatories from over 100 countries and is supported by some 35 national IP and Copyright Offices and IP and ADR industry associations. WIPO ADR Young has reached 900+ members from more than 90 countries. Additionally, the WIPO Center podcast WIPOD – Arbitration and Mediation Matters episodes have been streamed by nearly 2,000 listeners.
 
IP ADR and Member States

The WIPO Center expanded its initiatives with Member State 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 2022, the WIPO Center established new collaborations with the National Directorate of Author’s Right Office of Argentina (DNDA), the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), the National Institute of Industrial Property of Chile (INAPI), the Fujian High People’s Court (China), the Ministry of Justice of Egypt, the Patent Office at the Secretariat General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC-SG) of the GCC Member States, the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia (SAKPATENTI), the Hellenic Copyright Organization of Greece (HCO), the Registry of Intellectual Property of Guatemala (RPI), the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ), the National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Protection of Intellectual Property of Peru (INDECOPI), the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Qatar, the Industrial Property Office of the Slovak Republic (IPO SK), and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  

The WIPO Center now collaborates with over 70 such national entities.
 
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