Extrajudicial means of resolving disputes involving intellectual property assets grew in 2020. The shift from face-to-face to virtual due to the pandemic increased the demand for this type of procedure. The increase in cases has been registered at ABPI’s Intellectual Property Dispute Resolution, Mediation and Arbitration Center (CSD-ABPI), in its three Chambers: Mediation, Arbitration, and Domain Names.
The most visible case is that of ABPI’s Domain Name Chamber (CASD-ND), which was already growing in the wake of the e-commerce boom in the late 90s and originated several disputes over domain names, such as cybersquatting, characterized by the use of bad faith. CASD-ND is closing the year with 61 solved disputes (and ongoing) against 52 last year, totaling 300 disputes since it was implemented eight years ago.
CASD-ND operates under the rules of the Administrative System of Internet Conflicts related to Domain Names under the “.br” (SACI-Adm), which is among the largest numbers of country registrations in the world, with more than 4.4 million registered domains. Thousands of new domains are registered every day and, with that, conflicts involving corporate names, brands, or artistic names arise.
The movement of the Mediation and Arbitration Chambers, which complete the tripod of the CSD-ABPI Chambers, also registered growth. The number of consultations has increased, and there are already some cases in progress. These are more time-consuming and complex procedures, which require experts to analyze the cases more accurately.
