Technology companies would prefer arbitration over litigation when dealing with disputes. Respondents identified the top three problems with litigation as cost (64 per cent), time to resolution (57 per cent), and inexperienced or unqualified judges (46 per cent). More than 20 per cent of tech companies said that their main concerns included overly intrusive discovery practice, random jury verdicts, or an inability to implement enforcement internationally. Three in four favoured arbitration for its specialised expertise whilst one in two (54 per cent) valued the time it took to resolve the issue and 40 per cent supported it for the increased privacy it offered. These were closely followed by streamlined processes and flexible procedures.
Critical concerns
The research was carried out by Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center (SVAMC), a leading not-for-profit that advances the use of arbitration and mediation in technology-related business disputes around the world in association with the Global Technology Dispute Resolution Council. ‘Industry experts have confirmed that cost, time to resolution, and decision-makers with specialised expertise are critical concerns in technology company disputes,’ said Gary Benton, chairman of SVAMC.