Intellectual property is similarly a burgeoning field of law with ramifications that commonly pertain to more than one jurisdiction. The purpose of this paper is to examine some of the major considerations which arise in the conjunction of these two disciplines. This definition expresses the essential nature of intellectual property, that it results from intellectual activity and consists of exclusive rights to the products of man's mind. Note that the definition is extensive and thus able to comprehend new forms of property such as the recently acknowledged rights in the design of semiconductor topographies. The commercial importance of intellectual property in the last decade of the twentieth century can hardly be over-estimated as we witness the historical transition from an industrial society founded on tangible assets in manufacturing plant to an information society based on intangible assets in knowledge generated by talented individuals.
Intellectual property is the source of many of the most dynamic world enterprises.
It is the foundation of the publishing industry, the entertainment industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and the most rapidly developing industry of all - that based on information technology. The computer industry generates much of the current interest in intellectual property with the vast commercial activity in new genres of work such as semiconductor designs, computer programs and digital databases. It is inevitable that the industrial and commercial activity stemming from intellectual properties will engender legal disputes of diverse types. These disputes relate not only to title to the property and infringement of the exclusive rights but also to the problems arising from contracts relating to these properties - the licence agreements, the royalty bargains, and covenants of various kinds. It is the theme of this paper that the character of intellectual property disputes makes them especially suitable for resolution by arbitration rather than by litigation.