Mediation of a Biotech Dispute

August 24, 2009
Intellectual Property News and Interesting Facts

A French and a German company entered into a collaboration agreement for the development of a human antibody for the treatment of a major disease.

Two years later, a US corporation acquired the French company. Alleging that the US Corporation shortly thereafter caused certain payments required under the collaboration agreement to be withheld, the German entity filed an action for breach of contract against the US Corporation in a district court in the United States.

The US Corporation filed counterclaims of rescission and breach of contract against the German company. After more than one year of court proceedings, the parties accepted the suggestion of the judge to submit their dispute to mediation and filed a joint request for mediation with the Center.

When the parties could not agree on the name of the mediator, the Center submitted for consideration of the parties a list of five possible candidates, meeting criteria set forth by the disputants in their mediation agreement. After some discussion, the parties agreed on one of the nominees proposed by the Center, an American intellectual property lawyer with considerable mediation experience.

The mediator conducted meetings with the parties in the United States. As a direct consequence of the facilitative role played by the mediator in the course of the case, the parties settled their dispute six months after the commencement of the mediation. – WIPO