ZPP Newsletter
Brussels, 30 September 2025
Webinar Summary: EUIPO Mediation at a Glance – Helping Businesses Avoid IP Litigation
On September 30th, 2025, the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers, European Enterprise Alliance and European Union Intellectual Property Office hosted an online webinar titled “EUIPO Mediation at a Glance – Helping Businesses Avoid IP Litigation.” The session aimed at providing businesses with practical insights into how mediation can serve as an effective alternative to costly and time-consuming intellectual property disputes.
The webinar was moderated by Lusyne Kesziszjan, Public Affairs Manager at the European Enterprise Alliance, and featured presentation by Plamena Georgieva, IP lawyer and Mediator at the Boards of Appeal at the EUIPO.
Plamena Georgieva provided an overview of the EUIPO Mediation Centre, highlighting its role as one of the core tasks of the EUIPO under Article 170. With over 23,000 inter partes proceedings each year – including oppositions, cancellations, design invalidities, and appeals – mediation offers businesses a faster, cost-effective, and confidential solution compared to litigation. She presented the evolution of EUIPO mediation since November 2023, which has shown a 70% settlement rate and an 80% user satisfaction rate. Mediation services are conducted mainly in English, though 51 mediators across the EU can facilitate in a variety of languages.
The session also compared mediation with litigation, pointing out key advantages such as flexibility, reduced costs, confidentiality, and the ability to preserve long-term business relationships. Georgieva highlighted five common reasons to choose mediation, including complex cross-border disputes, the need for enforceable outcomes, confidentiality concerns, and situations where parties maintain ongoing business ties.
Participants also received an outline of the mediation process at the EUIPO, which includes suspension of proceedings for six months, a three-month mediation phase, and active roles for companies, lawyers, and mediators to ensure mutually beneficial outcomes. The discussion concluded by emphasizing the importance of raising awareness of mediation as a viable tool for businesses to resolve disputes efficiently while maintaining focus on growth and innovation.
ZPP and the European Enterprise Alliance’s continued commitment to equipping European businesses with practical tools and knowledge to thrive in a complex regulatory environment is highlighted with this webinar.
