Introduction
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR).[1] refers to the different ways people can resolve disputes without a trial common ADR process includes mediation, arbitration, and neutral evaluation. These processes are generally confidential, less formal, and less stressful than traditional court proceedings it is a technique to resolve disputes and conflicts between the parties by arriving at a settlement. The ADR mechanism provides an opportunity to facilitate the resolution of businesses and other problems that we’re unable to initiate a negotiation process or reach amicable solutions. The Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1986 contains Arbitration law [2]. The law came into presence on January 25th, 1996 in India this act contains provisions for domestic arbitration and the enforcement of foreign arbitral verdicts. It is inspired by a law similar to the United Nations Model acquired by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
WHAT ARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Intellectual property rights (IPR) are the unique rights given to persons over the creations of the inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, and images used in commerce and other industries They usually give the creator a Special right over the use of his/her creation for a certain period.
THE TYPES OF ARBITRATION
- Domestic Arbitration
- International Arbitration
Domestic Arbitration: this type of Arbitration happens in India where both the parties to the dispute also belong to India and the dispute is decided concerning the law of India in this arbitration process the dispute should arise in India and the parties are subjected to the Indian constitution .
International arbitration: This type of arbitration takes within the region of India or outside India if it has an element that has a foreign origin that is termed International arbitration the circumstances of the disputes between the parties decide which type of origin law should be applied to the dispute.
In India, there are three types of the arbitration process:
- Ad hoc arbitration
- Institutional arbitration
- Fast track arbitration
Ad hoc arbitration – This type of arbitration happens when parties with mutual consent opt for arbitration to resolve the disputes among them it is the most familiar form of arbitration used in India.
Institutional arbitration – In this type of arbitration the institutions have their own rules and they give time for the arbitration to settle disputes among the parties.
Fast track arbitration – Is the solution to the extensive process of arbitration time is the main essence of Fast track arbitration this process is also called private process as it is different from court proceedings and it happens secretly.
OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS OF ADR
- Conciliation
- Mediation
- negotiation
Conciliation – In this resolution, an expert is appointed who convinces the parties to agree upon an agreement.
Mediation – In this resolution both the parties resolve their conflicts with a support of a third or a neutral party.
Negotiation – In this resolution the parties reach an agreement through written correspondence or a meeting between the parties.
FOUR MAIN TYPES OF IPR
- Patents
- Copyright
- Trademarks
- Trade secret
Patents – these are exclusive rights this protect invented machines, manufactured objects, technological or industrial processes.
Copyrights – these protect literary and artistic works a logo created by a company is in for copyright production [3]
Trademarks – these apply to the assets that serve as the marketplace or identifiers for organizations, brands, and easily recognized trademark logo can be the most valuable asset to the company.
Trade secret – a trade secret is something for which efforts are made to keep confidential it generally should not be known to the public.
SOME OF THE IMPORTANT IPRS IN INDIA
- Patents
- Copyrights
- Trademark
ADVANTAGES OF ADR
- Reduced time in disputes –[4]It takes less time to reach a final decision
- Reduced costs – In according to dispute resolution requires less money and is cheap and efficient.
- Flexibility – The parties are flexible as they have the right to choose what rules will be applied to the disputes.
- Party autonomy – Because of the private nature it affords the parties to exercise greater control for example in court litigation the parties may select the most appropriate decision-makers for their disputes increased party autonomy helps in the faster process as the parties have the right to devise the most efficient procedures for their dispute.
- Confidentiality – As the proceedings are private the parties are allowed to keep the action confidential.
- Preserves relationships – Helps people to be united instead of one winner or one loser.
DISADVANTAGES OF ADR
- Parties are not forced to continue negotiations and mediation.
- Parties may only have limited bargaining power there are little or no little power imbalances between parties.
- There is no such guaranteed resolution as ADR processes do not always lead to a resolution.
- Alternative dispute resolution generally solves issues of money or civil disputes.
IMPACT OF ADR
According to modern times, ADR is an efficient and cost-effective way to keep the corporations out of the court and keeps away from the kind of litigation which destroys winners and also the losers while everything has a good side but there is also a bad side. So the bad side is that ADR is practiced so often that that turns into a private judicial that just costs the as the litigation as nowadays these methods contain a lot of excesses baggage in the form of judges, lawyers, and court reporters which not at all good for the process to run smoothly while the good side is that it takes lower costs and quicker resolution and sometimes it helps to build the unity.
THE IMPACT OF ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION IN INDIA
In India there are still a lot of pending cases that are unsolved due to the long procedures which are used by the court to solve the cases the role of the ADR is very important in society as it helps to solve the disputes in a very less cost and a very effective manner as through this it saves both the time and the money and it also helps to improve the relations between the parties as in the courts on is the winner and the other one is a loser while in ADR both the parties come to a settlement another good thing is that the privacy is maintained in ADR. Therefore ADR is a very good method that helps to resolve disputes very easily.
ADVANTAGES OF IPR
- There are no fees required whenever you need to change or enhance your business so it can be done free of cost.
- IP protection gives the business an edge because the other companies would be able to copy or manufacture.
Disadvantages of IPR
- After getting the IP protection it is difficult to stop those who are copying the work.
- Needs additional costs for the protection of the product are expensive.
IMPACT OF IPR IN INDIA
IPR is very important for Indian society because without IPR no business will have a copyright and it is needed for every type of industry I think the government should promote IPR rights as there are still many people who don’t know about IPR so it is important to educate them so that they understand its features a huge number of camps should be organized to make the people know and to educate the people there must be camps organized by the government.
CONCLUSION
ADR and IPR Both are very important because in ADR it is easy to solve the problem, as well as the cost, is also very cheap and it makes mutual understanding between parties due to which the relation between them is good while in IPR A business can be only safe with it as without IPR the business ideas can be taken by another business so both ADR and IPR are important in their ways.
Author(s) Name: Avishikta Guha (Amity University, Kolkata)
References:
[1] What is ADR (NYC COURTS.GOV) <https://ww2.nycourts.gov/ip/adr/What_Is_ADR.shtml> accessed on July 9th 2022
[2] ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION ACT , 1996 <www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/1978/1/AAA1996__26.pdf>
[3] Sterling Miller, Modern General Counsel: Four types of intellectual property (THOMSON REUTERS, November 12 2021) <https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/insights/articles/four-types-of-intellectual-property> accessed on July 9th 2022
[4] EXPLAIN THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION ( THE LAWYERS AND JURISTS) <http://www.lawyersnjurists.com/article/advantages-disadvantages-alternative-dispute-resolution/> accessed on July 9th 2022
