An experienced mediator, familiar with similar cases, can facilitate a settlement. The decision that a court might have reached, may provide a target that the parties can work toward. This means that the mediator should be an experienced intellectual property professional, familiar with the contrasting philosophies of the applicable laws and regulations of the national jurisdictions involved. As this audience knows far better than I, there are stark differences between United States practices and those of most other countries. An important advantage to mediated settlements is that they do not appear on a public court record or in the press.
Confidentiality is a consideration when intellectual property is the subject of the dispute.
Mediation is a relatively unstructured dispute resolution approach. The parties willingness to bargain, combined with the mediator s skill are the driving forces in reaching a successful resolution. A mediator does not hold evidentiary hearings, but conducts informal meetings with both parties to discuss the claim. The parties in substantial business mediations are usually represented by their attorneys. At the outset, the mediator describes the procedure, the order of presentation, and the confidentiality of the proceedings.