The win-lose scenario presented by litigation can be unattractive to the parties involved in intellectual property disputes. Mediation provides an opportunity to fashion agreements that have benefits for all the parties, without the uncertainty, delay and expense of litigation.

Todd Bailey, one of the Center’s mediators, has focused much of his law practice on intellectual property matters and is now focusing his mediation practice on intellectual property as well.

Copyright, trademark, patent, unfair competition and trade secret disputes are especially suitable for mediation because the stakes are often quite high, and the win-lose scenario that litigation presents can be very unattractive to the parties.

Mediation provides the parties with an opportunity:

• To evaluate the risks
• To apply that evaluation to their negotiations
• To fashion agreements that work well for the parties from a business viewpoint

It is not unusual, for example, for parties to agree to arrangements with benefits for both parties when the merits of the parties’ claims are especially difficult to evaluate or the outcome in litigation is especially difficult to predict.