PMAC presented its ADR services to stakeholders in Brazil

On 21 October 2026, Aleš Zalar, Director of the Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre of the Unified Patent Court (PMAC), participated as a speaker in the webinar “Key Issues in Intellectual Property Arbitration”, organised as part of the events celebrating the 20th anniversary of LES Brazil.

The webinar brought together Aleš Zalar and Vitor Butruce, Partner at Barbosa Mussnich & Aragão, to discuss key developments and perspectives at the intersection of intellectual property and arbitration.

Vitor Butruce opened the discussion with an overview of the arbitration landscape in Brazil, highlighting the potential for further development of IP arbitration. He identified franchising as a particularly promising area for its wider use and emphasised the importance of incorporating arbitration clauses at the contract drafting stage, well before disputes arise. In this context, he underlined the key role of companies, in-house legal teams and transactional lawyers in promoting the use of arbitration.

In his presentation, Aleš Zalar introduced PMAC and its specialised dispute resolution framework, addressing the scope of PMAC’s competence, the interaction between arbitration and litigation, and the flexibility offered by PMAC’s mediation, arbitration, expert determination and hybrid procedures.

Particular attention was given to SEP/FRAND disputes as an example of complex, cross-border patent disputes where specialised arbitration and other dispute resolution mechanisms can provide parties with flexible procedural options.

Aleš Zalar also highlighted PMAC’s ongoing work in the SEP/FRAND field, including the development of the PMAC FRAND Guidelines. 

During the Q&A session, the speakers also addressed the issue of confidentiality and transparency in arbitration. Vitor Butruce highlighted the tension between parties’ interest in accessing arbitral awards to gain insights into arbitral practice and their reluctance to have awards concerning their own disputes made public. Aleš Zalar explained that, under the PMAC Arbitration Rules, the Centre may publish arbitral awards in anonymised form, unless a party objects within 60 days of notification of the award.

The discussion was moderated by Cândida Ribeiro Caffé, Partner at Dannemann Siemsen, PMAC ADR Ambassador for Latin America and Board Member of LES Brazil, together with Paula Mena Barreto, Partner at Campos Mello Advogados and Board Member of LES Brazil.

PMAC would like to express its particular thanks to Cândida Ribeiro Caffé for helping to make this event possible and for her continued efforts to promote PMAC and ADR in Latin America.

The webinar provided a valuable opportunity to present PMAC’s approach to international IP dispute resolution to the Brazilian IP community and to exchange perspectives on the evolving role of arbitration in patent and SEP/FRAND disputes.