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Symposium Introduction: Advancing Intellectual Property Goals Through Prevention And Alternative Dispute Resolution, Thomas Barton, James Cooper

Thomas D. Barton

This essay offers a brief background to the issues that prompted a global exploration of alternative methods for preventing and resolving IP disputes. Part One describes the exploding importance of IP rights and law and consequent challenges to court adjudication. Part Two offers a snapshot of current IP enforcement methods: traditional and emerging, public and private, domestic and international. Part Three suggests factors toward matching IP problems with alternative procedures for their effective resolution. Finally, woven throughout this essay is a recommendation of stronger involvement by public domestic or international bodies in dispute prevention and ADR methods.