Ever since I became a WIPO Mediator and Arbitrator, I had the urge to update my knowledge on mediation and arbitration. However, my other work commitments have prevented me to do so. And this week, in a Shenzhen Conference on arbitration and a Hong Kong Conference on mediation, I have learned a lot from my peers.
Both Conferences shared a slant on the Belt & Road initiative. As speakers and the audience were actors of municipal legal systems, what was in it for them was to hear the prospect of growing demand for their services due to the Belt & Road initiative. Only one visionary speaker briefly questioned their basic assumption that "disputes are inevitable".
Disputes I believe are largely symptoms evidencing poor leadership and management. Disputes could have been prevented or avoided upfront. Decentralized ledger technology (DLT) are immutable and crypto-currency can be a payment option, and artificial intelligence (AI) based on big data can tell what is objectively right or wrong.
Hypothesize the exploitation of my digital copyright portfolio as a "dispute free zone". While my works are time-stamped by a DLT depositary, AI with big data verifies my copyright ownership. The self-executing DLT design would be that those using my works would have eg a fraction of a crypto-currency in their accounts credited to me as royalties!