CSD-ABPI debates mediation and arbitration in the franchise
A technical and comprehensive debate, which brought together a team of great experts in arbitration, mediation and franchises, marked, this Tuesday, 5th, at the ABPI headquarters, in São Paulo, the “Dialogue on conflicts and franchises”, an event promoted by the Arbitration (CArb-ABPI) and Mediation (CMed-ABPI) chambers of the ABPI Dispute Resolution Center (CSD-ABPI). The meeting, in a hybrid format, with significant in-person and online attendance, resulted in an open discussion, including to the public, on topics related to arbitration and mediation, with emphasis on strategic issues and care in drafting arbitration clauses in franchises.
At the opening of the work, the president of CSD-ABPI and director of CArb, Manoel J. Pereira dos Santos, welcomed the participants and explained that the ABPI Arbitration and Mediation chambers underwent updating, and highlighted the increase in the number of arbitrators . “We have 11 new referees specialized in franchises and we should have another seven who are yet to join”, he announced.
In the morning, dedicated to debates on arbitration, the panel “Adequacy of the use of arbitration for franchise disputes: sensitive issues and attractions of this strategic choice” brought together, under the moderation of the deputy director of CArb-ABPI, Nathalia Mazzonetto, the president of the Coordination Committee of the Chamber of Mediation, Conciliation and Arbitration of the OAB-SP and the Brazilian Arbitration Committee, Vera Monteiro de Barros, and the member of the Legal Studies Commission from ABF (Brazilian Franchising Association), Flávia Amaral.
In the panel, on “Arbitration clause in franchise contract: ‘tricks’ and drafting care”, mediated by the president of the CSD, the speakers were lawyer Antonio Deccache, doctor in Commercial Law from USP, and Cândida Caffé, coordinator of the Commission of ABPI Technology Transfer and Franchises Study.
In the afternoon, the discussions focused on mediation, with an initial presentation by the director of CMed, Karin Klempp Franco, on the “CMed Regulations and Rules and their suitability for disputes involving Intellectual Property”. Karin presented the numbers of the ABPI Mediation Chamber, created in 2015 and which accounts for two dozen procedures. “We are on the rise, but I emphasize that a mediation chamber takes time to establish itself, so our challenge is to disseminate CMed to ABPI members and others interested in this type of procedure” , said the director of CMed.
The last panel of the event, on “Training for mediators” was presented by Adolfo Braga Neto, President of the Board of IMAB – Instituto de Mediação e Arbitragem do Brasil and mediator at CMed. Adolfo brought his experience in mediating conflicts involving franchises to those present and demonstrated how mediation and the franchise system are inseparable – the preservation of the relationship, the recovery of communication, the discretion (confidentiality) of the mediation procedure and its voluntariness are a perfect complement to foster the franchisor-franchisee relationship.