Mediation is a collaborative process whereby individuals control the outcome of a dispute by working out a settlement of the dispute between themselves without the necessity of going to court.

II. What does a Mediator do?

A good mediator simply facilitates the settlement process by acting as a good listener to both sides of the dispute and helping each side fully evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their position. The mediator is not a Judge or an Arbitrator and does not force a settlement on the parties. If a solution to the dispute is reached, it is a solution that the parties have reached together not one forced on them by a Judge, jury or any other impersonal third party.

III. What types of disputes can be mediated?

Virtually every kind of civil dispute can be mediated. In fact, prior to turning the outcome of a dispute over to a Judge who doesn’t know you or your business at all and who only has a very limited time to decide your dispute based on a very stilted and contrived presentation of the facts, individuals can control their own destiny by resorting to mediation first when facing a business dispute. After all, who knows more about what is acceptable to you and your business than you do.

IV. Can Intellectual Property disputes be mediated?

Most certainly! It is our belief that patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret disputes are the types of disputes for which mediation is well suited. These cases are complex and the laws are confusing and not generally well understood by most lawyers let alone Judges and juries. IP litigation very costly, with some pundits estimating the cost at more than one million dollars, per side, for a patent infringement case. Litigation takes time, a lot of time, sometimes years and years of time. Litigation is uncertain. No litigator can guaranty the outcome of your case. You may have the law and the facts on your side but the jury may hate your key witness. For companies for which time, money, and predictable outcomes are important, mediation is more than a viable first place to start resolving IP disputes, it is a must.

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For more information concerning intellectual property, intellectual property asset analysis, or our Intellectual Property Management System, please contact J. Nevin Shaffer, Jr., P.A. at the address below.
913 Gulf Breeze Parkway Suite 43 Gulf Breeze, Fl 32561 PH: (850) 934-4124 FAX: (850) 934-4143 Email: nevin@bga.com