The World Intellectual Property Organisation (Wipo) is in the final stages of developing an internet-based system for resolving international intellectual property disputes.
Wipo, one of 16 specialised agencies belonging to the United Nations (UN), has initially targeted its virtual arbitration and mediation system at disputes involving internet domain names.
But Erik Wilbers, senior legal officer at the Wipo arbitration and mediation centre in Geneva, said the service would also eventually lend itself to other types of commercial disputes, particularly where electronic commerce was involved.
Wilbers, who spoke at last week's International Bar Association (IBA) conference in Zurich, Challenges of the Internet, said the boom in e-commerce meant the online resolution of disputes now made more sense.
"Wipo believes that the expansion of electronic commerce on the Internet may soon lead parties to prefer to settle disputes arising out of such commerce in the same way as it is conducted," he said.
According to Wilbers, who worked at Clifford Chance in Amsterdam before joining Wipo, the virtual arbitration service will also increase public access to dispute mechanisms and cut costs.
"Enabling people to initiate or defend a claim by accessing a website and completing electronic forms that guide them through the various stages of the process should reduce entry barriers to any available procedures," he said.
"The Wipo system is internet-based," Wilbers added. "Digital communication tools have been designed to allow parties to file requests in electronic form and exchange information online through secure channels. The system also includes automatic notifications, an electronic fee-payment system and databases to support logging and archiving of submissions."
However, Bird & Bird partner Hilary Pearson, one of the UK's leading IT and IP lawyers, said the Wipo proposals were still a subject of debate.
She said a significant level of criticism had been aimed at the new system because it seemed to favour big companies and big trademark owners. "I think there is a presumption in favour of the trademark owner," she said.
Pearson also said there was disquiet over suggestions that the Wipo service would be compulsory for the settlement of all domain name disputes. "Wipo, as a part of the UN, does not have a reputation for being a speedy and flexible organisation," she said. "The whole process could end up being slow and cumbersome, especially where you have cyber-squatters only looking to get money."
She said Wipo was scheduled to meet the US Department of Justice this week to discuss the department's misgivings about the plans. "Clearly, what the US says will have a big impact. It is the biggest internet player," Pearson added.