International Arbitration Trends in 2026
Parties are increasingly looking to resolve patent disputes through arbitration, reflecting the growing value and complexity of patents, especially in the tech and life sciences sectors. Arbitration offers parties efficiency, confidentiality and global enforceability (via the New York Convention), avoiding costly multi-jurisdictional litigation and the risk of conflicting decisions.
New arbitration institutions and patent-specific arbitration rules, like the Arbitration Rules of the Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre (PMAC) of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), launching in 2026, will further support and accelerate this trend.
In detail
Patent arbitration is on the rise
This trend reflects the growing importance of patents as strategic assets, especially for businesses in technology and life sciences. As the value of these intellectual property assets increases, parties need to find ways to protect and enforce their patents swiftly and effectively across multiple jurisdictions. Arbitration is increasingly seen as an attractive alternative to litigation, which is often limited to a specific jurisdiction, expensive, slow and played out in the public domain.
A recent high-profile example illustrates the benefits of arbitration over traditional litigation in multi-jurisdictional patent disputes. The global patent dispute between AutoStore and Ocado involved multiple proceedings before national courts in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and the European Patent Office, centering on infringement claims and validity challenges over automated warehouse technologies. Ultimately, a worldwide settlement in 2023 saw the parties withdraw all litigation and cross-license key patents. Had international arbitration been pursued, the parties may have achieved a centralized, efficient and potentially faster resolution, avoiding the complications and risks of navigating litigations in numerous jurisdictions.
Pursuing concurrent claims in multiple jurisdictions — potentially including the United States, China, the European Union and Japan — can be prohibitively complex and costly and can result in inconsistent findings. By contrast, arbitration can provide a single forum for the streamlined resolution of disputes over patent rights in multiple jurisdictions. While arbitration may be less suitable when it comes to validity challenges to individual portfolio patents, it is a beneficial forum for licensing disputes.
One area where arbitration can be particularly helpful is disputes involving standard-essential patents (SEPs) and related fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing terms. Because technical standards are usually global, SEP licenses are in many cases global, as well. As technological standards continue to proliferate across interconnected industries and geographies, the number and complexity of SEP-related disputes will grow. Arbitration provides a specialized toolset for resolving these matters, offering technical expertise (through the availability of specialist arbitrators) and procedural flexibility in one central forum.
Practical takeaways
- Consider arbitration clauses early: When negotiating patent-related agreements, consider proactively including arbitration clauses tailored for multi-jurisdictional patent disputes. Consider the inclusion of arbitration clauses in SEP license agreements where follow‑on licenses are likely to be required.
- Assess global enforcement needs: Arbitration can be especially helpful if country-by-country litigation is burdensome and a swift solution in one forum is crucial for your business objectives.
- Protect sensitive information: Arbitration’s confidentiality helps shield trade secrets and commercially sensitive data from public exposure.
- Choose the right arbitrators: Leverage the ability to appoint subject-matter experts with relevant technical and legal expertise as arbitrators.
- Monitor institutional developments: Stay informed about new venues like PMAC and evolving patent-specific rules to optimize dispute resolution strategies.
- Reduce risk and cost: Arbitration can help streamline proceedings, avoid conflicting judgments and minimize costs and disruptions associated with parallel litigation.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your dispute resolution strategy for patent disputes.
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