Cyber squatting has increased significantly as per a recent statement by World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). This shows the importance of domain names in today’s commercial and inter connected world. Securing domain name protection in India is a very tedious and troublesome task as India has no domain name protection law as well as cyber squatting law. All cases of cyber squatting are dealt with under the trade mark act, 1999 of India. This is the main reason why domain name dispute resolution services in India are provided by few selective players only.
Technology has also introduced a novel element to dispute resolution. Now alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services are supplemented by online dispute resolution (ODR) methods. Technology disputes involving fields like Cyber Law, Cyber Security, Cyber Forensics, Technology Transfer, Cyber Squatting etc require Domain Specific and Highly Specialised Techno Legal Acumen, says Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner Perry4Law a New Delhi based and exclusive Techno Legal IP and ICT Law Firm of India.
However, there are very few technology related dispute resolution providers and ODR service providers in India. For instance, Perry4Law through Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) is the exclusive techno legal ADR and ODR service provider of India. Although ODR services are provided by a few others as well in India yet none of them, except Perry4Law and PLTB, provide techno legal ODR services in India.
These initiatives of Perry4Law and PTLB assume significance as dispute resolution of cross border technology transactions would be one of the emerging trends in international commercial arbitration in India. Further, cross border technology transactions and dispute resolution may take lots of shape and requirements. These technologies related dispute resolution services would also need techno legal expertise that very selective individuals and organisations possess.
India can become a global hub for international commercial dispute resolution (ICDR) services. ICDR services can be provided for disputes arising out of contracts on sales of goods, distributorship, agency and intermediary contracts, construction, engineering and infrastructure contracts, intellectual property contracts, domain name dispute resolutions, joint venture agreements, maritime contracts, employment contracts, etc. The list is fast expanding as the world is moving away from the traditional litigation system. All we need to make India a hub for ADR and ODR is a conducive.
Firstly, the ADR system of India needs reforms as it is in a really bad shape. Secondly, the arbitration infrastructure in India needs to be established. Thirdly, contemporary dispute resolution methods like online dispute resolution (ODR) and e-courts are missing in India. Even the national litigation policy of India (NLPI) failed to consider ODR and e-courts as effective methods of out of court dispute resolution. These issues must be resolved to make India a favourite destination for technology related dispute resolutions.
