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Dispute Resolution Tools In Patent Infringement Cases: Aoki V. Gilbert, No. 2:11-Cv02787-Tln-Cnd, 2015 Wl 5734626 (E.D. Cal. 2015), Brandon Craig

Journal of Dispute Resolution

While arbitration has become a widely accepted alternative to litigation, the role it should play in patent disputes has been widely debated. Issued by the federal government, patents confer a temporary monopoly on the production, use, and sale of new innovations. The government may have an interest in keeping such disputes out of the private realm of arbitration, at least when the dispute is over the validity of the patent. For other patent issues such as licensing, which is essentially a private contract, arbitration may serve as a useful and cost-effective alternative. Even when arbitration is not warranted, other useful …