Francis Gurry, Director of the WIPO Arbirtration and Mediation Centre said, “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to collaborate with the ASP industry in developing effective and reliable dispute-resolution procedures for an evolving model of internet commerce. The ASP model is fundamentally changing the way software is delivered and used on the internet. To develop further, there must be confidence in the integrity and reliability of the model and this hinges on mutual respect of rights.”
ASPs deliver and manage applications and computing services from remote data centres to multiple users via the internet or a private network. Disputes arise over matters such as software or hardware performance, project management, infringement of rights, service failure and loss of data.
The ASP industry consortium, ASPIC, groups together over 400 member companies worldwide. Traver Gruen-Kennedy, ASPIC’s chairman, said, “In the ASP world, management of information technology becomes the management of contracts. Effective dispute avoidance, management and resolution mechanisms are about instilling confidence in a business relationship, not undermining it. Having in place such mechanisms will lead to more robust contracts and better business relationships.”
The guidelines to help ASPs and their clients avoid and resolve disputes are expected towards the end of this year for voluntary adoption by the ASPIC members.
The Geneva-based WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre already provides dispute resolution services relating to the internet and e-commerce. It is recognised as one of the leading dispute resolution service providers for domain name disputes. To date, over 300 domain name cases have been filed, mostly by trade mark holders seeking to evict cybersquatters.
For more information, see our guides on Dispute Resolution and Branding and Intellectual Property.