To be enforceable, arbitration awards must therefore be recorded in court, and made part of a court order. It is therefore ultimately up to a judge, not an arbitrator, to decide on the extent to which, if any, arbitration awards ought to be enforced. The main attractions of arbitration are speed, low cost and confidentiality. In addition, in arbitration the parties have an opportunity to select one or more arbitrators who are expert in the technical field with which the dispute is concerned, which is of obvious importance in relation to patent matters. With regard to the issue of speed, in addition to the duration of the proceeding being shorter than conventional litigation, in arbitration there is a likelihood that the decision can be rendered much faster after the evidence and arguments have been heard.
Cost saving is another potential advantage of arbitration.
Unfortunately, as in court disputes, the extent to which the parties genuinely wish to achieve a quick and inexpensive adjudication of their dispute has a lot to do with the ultimate cost and delay in arbitration proceedings, as it does in litigation. Proposal for General Rules A. Rules desired It is the opinion of the Canadian group that arbitration should be possible for all aspects of intellectual property disputes without any restriction as to grounds. In the view of the Canadian group, it is not necessary to limit arbitration to certain kinds of intellectual property like copyright and know-how, or to certain matters, such as licensing and ownership. In the view of the Canadian group, an international intellectual property arbitration treaty or agreement and centre in Geneva or elsewhere are not necessary at the present time. Canadian experience indicates that Canadians do not yet have the demand or the inclination to be substantial users of such a system.