Online Certificate Course on Mediation in Intellectual Property Rights at SGT University, Gurugram (14-29 November 2026; Fee Rs 1,099; Register by 10 November)

The School of Law, SGT University, in collaboration with the SGT University Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (SADRC) and the Centre for Intellectual Property Rights Studies (CIPRS), organises a 4-week certificate course on Mediation in Intellectual Property Rights, with the tagline “Where Innovation Meets Resolution”. It is held online over four expert sessions on weekends: 14, 21, 28 and 29 November 2026.

Ideas are today’s most valuable assets, and among the most contested. IP disputes are technical, cross-border and commercially sensitive, while litigation is slow, costly and public. The course presents mediation as a confidential, expert-led path that preserves the partnerships innovation needs.

In India, the Mediation Act, 2023, mandatory pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, and the IP Division of the Delhi High Court have placed mediation at the centre of IP dispute resolution. The course gives participants the law, the strategy and the hands-on skill to mediate IP disputes, from licensing deadlocks and trademark conflicts to patent and technology-transfer disputes.

Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary (SGT) University, Gurugram, was established in 2013. It is accredited NAAC A+. Its School of Law is approved by the Bar Council of India and blends doctrine with practice through semester internships, clinical courses, moot courts and legal aid outreach.

SADRC promotes the practice, research and culture of Alternative Dispute Resolution, building skills in mediation, arbitration, negotiation, conciliation and online dispute resolution through training, workshops, bootcamps and competitions, including the Dr. Lalit Bhasin 1st International Mediation Competition, 2026.

CIPRS advances teaching, research and awareness in intellectual property law, including patents, copyright, trademarks and designs.

The course aims to:

• Build a clear understanding of the legal framework for mediating IP disputes in India and abroad
• Explain why IP disputes suit mediation, and when they do not
• Develop negotiation and mediation strategies tailored to IP and commercial interests
• Train participants to draft enforceable, IP-specific settlement agreements
• Introduce emerging frontiers: AI, online dispute resolution and cross-border IP enforcement

On completion, participants will be able to:

• Navigate the statutory and institutional framework governing IP mediation
• Assess an IP dispute and choose the right resolution route
• Apply interest-based negotiation and mediation techniques to IP conflicts
• Draft key clauses for mediation agreements and settlement terms
• Anticipate emerging trends shaping the future of IP dispute resolution

• Law students (UG and PG) and research scholars
• Advocates, in-house counsel and IP attorneys
• Mediators and ADR practitioners
• Start-up founders, innovators and R&D professionals
• Academicians and policy professionals

The course runs online, so participants can join from anywhere, and it is scheduled on weekends so that it fits around study and work. The sessions are led by practitioners in IP and mediation, with a practical focus on case studies, drafting and a mock mediation. There is a Q&A after every session. Seats are limited.

Saturday, 14 November 2026, online. Led by Prof. (Dr.) Bismi Gopalakrishnan. The session lays the foundation: what makes IP disputes distinctive, why mediation suits them, and the domestic and international framework that governs IP mediation today.

Key themes: why IP disputes suit mediation, the Mediation Act, 2023, Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, the Delhi High Court IP Division Rules, and the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center and the Singapore Convention.

About the speaker: Prof. (Dr.) Gopalakrishnan is Registrar of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, and Professor and Head of its School of Indian Legal Thought. She is the first woman to serve as its Registrar, has over two decades in academia and has served as Dean of the Faculty of Law. An expert in Healthcare Laws, Intellectual Property Rights and Public Law, she is the author of Legal Aspects of Healthcare and Hospital Administration. In 2011 she represented India in the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, focusing on intellectual property rights.

Saturday, 21 November 2026, online. Led by Dr. Apoorva Dixit. The session builds the core skills of negotiating and mediating IP disputes, with a focus on technical complexity, confidentiality and moving parties past deadlock.

Key themes: interests over positions, the mediator’s role in technical disputes, confidentiality and protecting know-how, using technical experts, and joint and private sessions to break deadlock.

About the speaker: Dr. Dixit is an Associate Professor at the School of Law, G.D. Goenka University, Gurugram, where she heads the Centre for Conflict Resolution. She specialises in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Corporate Laws and Cyber Laws, and is an accredited mediator and certified arbitrator. She is a recipient of the Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Best Faculty Award (2021).

Saturday, 28 November 2026, online. Led by Adv. Mark Oyieyo Oroko, MCIArb. The session examines how IP disputes arise in commercial practice and how parties can choose and design the right resolution route, from contract drafting to forum selection.

Key themes: patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret disputes, licensing, franchising and technology transfer, valuing IP in a dispute, choosing the forum, and dispute-resolution clauses in IP contracts.

About the speaker: Adv. Oroko is a dual-qualified Civil Engineer and Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, and a Partner at CROWNMARKS Advocates, Kenya. He is a practising Arbitrator and Mediator with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb) and the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, and was named a Tier-1 Winner of the 2025 WIPO ADR Young Competition.

Sunday, 29 November 2026, online. Led by Adv. Joel Kenneth Johnson. The session brings it all together in practice: drafting durable settlements, securing enforceability and exploring how ODR and AI are reshaping IP dispute resolution, closing with a mock mediation.

Key themes: drafting IP settlements (licences, co-existence and royalty terms), enforceability of settlements, online dispute resolution, AI and IP disputes, and a mock mediation and case study.

About the speaker: Adv. Johnson is an Advocate practising before the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts. He is an Accredited Arbitrator and Mediator, certified by the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee (MCPC) and the Supreme Court of India, and a Registered Trademark Attorney. He earlier led the IPR practice at Conscientia Consultancy & Law Associates, Bengaluru.

• Regular fee: Rs 1,099, till 10 November 2026
• Early bird fee: Rs 650, which applied till 20 October 2026
• Registration closes on 10 November 2026

To register, use the scan-to-register code in the brochure and pay the fee through the scan-to-pay code shown there.

E-certificates are given to participants attending all four sessions. The Certificate of Completion is jointly issued by SADRC and CIPRS.

For queries, contact the student coordinator Akshit on +91 89013 41308 or write to sadrc@sgtuniversity.org.

• Patron: Prof. (Dr.) Richa Chaudhary, Dean, School of Law, SGT University
• Faculty coordinator: Ms. Sandhya Sharma, Assistant Professor and Director, SADRC
• Faculty coordinator: Ms. Rimika Rajput, Assistant Professor and Additional Director, CIPRS