IP Mediation: How to Prepare and Reach a Stronger Settlement

Anton Nikolaiev

24.07.2026

Key takeaways

Mediation lets parties settle intellectual property disputes privately, usually faster and more cheaply than litigation, and can produce commercial outcomes a court cannot order.
Demand is rising: cases under the WIPO Mediation and Arbitration Rules grew by 42 per cent in 2025, and new European forums are opening at the EUIPO and the Unified Patent Court.
Preparation begins with clear objectives, separated into non-negotiables and points on which you can compromise, agreed and understood internally before talks start.
The team should be small but complete, combining decision-making authority with detailed knowledge of the dispute, supported by the right external advisers.
Evidence is selected rather than exhaustively reviewed, and genuinely sensitive material may need to be redacted or shared only with named individuals.
Even though mediation is cheaper than court, it still requires a planned budget covering mediator fees, advisers, venue and internal management time.

Why mediation is increasingly used for IP disputes

Mediation offers parties in an intellectual property dispute a confidential, flexible route to settlement that is generally quicker and less expensive than going to court. Because a mediator is not bound by court procedure, the process can address linked disputes across several jurisdictions at once and can deliver commercially creative outcomes, such as a licence or a future collaboration, that a judge has no power to impose. Where every party engages in good faith, structured negotiation can turn an entrenched disagreement into a workable settlement and, sometimes, into a new commercial relationship.

The infrastructure for IP mediation is expanding quickly. The World Intellectual Property Organisation Arbitration and Mediation Centre (WIPO AMC) reported a record year in 2025, supporting 1,461 IP, innovation and technology disputes, a 70 per cent rise on 2024. Of the 410 disputes handled specifically under the WIPO Mediation, Arbitration and Expert Determination Rules, a 42 per cent increase on the previous year, the most common subject areas were copyright and digital content (51 per cent), trade marks (31 per cent) and patents (9 per cent). Small and medium-sized enterprises, including start-ups, creators and innovators, accounted for 59 per cent of the parties, underlining how accessible the process has become for smaller organisations.

Europe is adding new options. The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) launched its Mediation Centre on 22 November 2023 and, from 2 June 2025, extended its services to all inter partes proceedings concerning EU trade marks and registered EU designs, covering opposition, cancellation, and invalidity matters at both first and second instance. More recently, the Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre (PMAC) of the Unified Patent Court was inaugurated on 2 June 2026, with seats in Ljubljana and Lisbon; it began offering mediation from May 2026, with arbitration and expert determination to follow later in the year. Together, these developments give businesses across Europe a wider choice of specialist forums for alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

What is IP mediation?

Mediation is a process in which a neutral, expert mediator helps the parties negotiate their own settlement, rather than imposing a decision on them. It is structured but flexible, can be held in person or remotely, and takes place in the language or languages the parties choose. Mediation may be built into a contract between commercial partners as a mandatory first step, or it may be proposed by one or both sides once a dispute arises. Unlike court proceedings, it is entirely private and tends to be far less adversarial.

In an IP context, mediation can be used for anything from disagreements with employees, suppliers, or contractors to complex disputes over the validity and infringement of rights, and related questions of valuation and competition law. Because the mediator is not constrained by court rules, the discussion can span multiple jurisdictions and explore commercial solutions that benefit both parties.

The meeting itself might last a few hours or run over several weeks, but the whole process, including preparation, appointing a mediator, exchanging proposals and holding informal sessions, can take many months. Thorough preparation is therefore essential to getting real value from the time spent at the table.

How do you set the right objectives?

Start by identifying and clearly articulating the outcome you want, and ensure it is agreed and understood within your organisation before talks begin. Objectives may be legal, commercial or both, but they need to be settled internally so that your representatives can act with confidence.

Because one of mediation’s strengths is its ability to produce novel solutions, it helps to divide your aims into non-negotiables on one hand and points where you can compromise on the other. It is also worth considering what the other side wants and how their goals might shape your strategy. This preparation gives you the best chance of a positive result.

Consider an established business, “BigCo”, that discovers a newcomer, “StartUp2.0”, has launched a product infringing on its rights. StartUp2.0 has little market share so far, but could scale quickly, and its success might encourage other competitors. BigCo does not want to look like a bully or attract litigation-related publicity. If StartUp2.0 acknowledges the earlier rights and agrees not to infringe them, BigCo might grant a licence in return for royalties on certain products and territories. Recovering damages for past infringement would be welcome, but is not a priority. Setting out those priorities in advance lets BigCo negotiate flexibly without losing sight of what matters most.

Who should be on your mediation team?

Choose a team that is small enough to be efficient but broad enough to cover every issue in the dispute. Once mediation is on the table, decide early who will take part, internally and externally, as this often needs discussion in larger organisations.
Internal representatives should have the authority to make decisions, which may involve directors or senior executives, but they must also understand the history of the dispute and be able to commit sufficient time to the process. External representatives might include lawyers with relevant corporate specialisms, patent or trade mark attorneys, and independent experts. Team size and composition matter more than they might appear to: the group must cover every relevant topic without becoming too large to be cost-effective.
Talks can move quickly, and negotiators may need to respond immediately to proposals from the other side or the mediator. They can only do so if they fully understand the products and technology involved, the wider commercial goals and the range of acceptable outcomes, so everyone should be properly briefed from the start.
Take “TechBoom”, a fast-growing technology company that licenses software rights from an individual developer, “Iris Inventor”, under an agreement containing a mediation clause. Iris argues that TechBoom’s latest developments fall outside the scope of the licence and infringe her rights. In preparing, TechBoom assembles a director who understands the overall business aims, an executive involved in early collaboration, and its in-house IP attorney, and it appoints external counsel known for a conciliatory, inventive approach rather than a litigator. The team is compact but holds both the authority and the knowledge required for the mediation.

How should you select evidence and other materials?

Compile and present your evidence deliberately, choosing the documents that make your strongest case without slowing the process down. Unlike litigation, mediation gives parties wide latitude in what they present, so the emphasis is on quality rather than volume.
A “less is more” approach usually works best, but it is important not to leave out anything that could genuinely affect the outcome. Useful documents often include contracts, licences and agreements between the parties, comparable arrangements with others, financial data, and records showing how IP rights were acquired, assigned or licensed.
Confidentiality deserves careful thought when deciding what to share. Everything disclosed in mediation stays between the parties and the mediator, but some material is particularly sensitive and requires additional protection. It can be sensible to take external legal advice on whether particular documents should be withheld, redacted, or disclosed only to named individuals.
For example, a research institute, “Geek Labs”, holds a large patent portfolio and has licensing agreements with many manufacturers. In mediation with a major manufacturer, “Top Products”, over licensing terms, it wants to rely on its patents and research publications, but also holds confidential, market-sensitive agreements with third parties. To respect those third parties’ confidentiality obligations, Geek Labs asks its lawyers whether it can disclose that information only to the mediator, to Top Products’ external advisers, or to specific named individuals at Top Products.

How do you keep control of the process?

Plan a budget and allocate resources from the outset, because mediation still carries real costs even though it is usually cheaper than litigation. Those costs include the mediator’s fees, the venue and external advisers, as well as internal outlays such as management time, travel, and the disruption or delayed revenue that can arise while matters remain unresolved.

By setting priorities, building a strong team, preparing documents carefully, and planning a budget, parties give themselves the best chance of a welcome resolution while avoiding unnecessary costs and distractions. As ADR becomes more common in disputes involving intellectual assets, these steps are worth keeping in mind for every IP-intensive business, both as a plan of action and as a flexible, pragmatic response when disputes or unexpected opportunities arise.

How Sterling Law can help

Sterling Law advises businesses, start-ups and individuals on protecting and enforcing their intellectual property rights, and on resolving disputes efficiently through mediation and other forms of dispute resolution. Our team can help you clarify your objectives, assemble the right people, prepare your evidence and confidentiality strategy, and represent you throughout the process so that you are well placed to reach a commercially sensible outcome. To discuss an IP dispute or prepare for mediation, contact Sterling Law.