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Specialised Workshop on Advanced Arbitration and Mediation for IP Disputes

03
September 2025
Time
08:45 AM - 17:00 PM
Category
Event
Location
Boulevard Ballroom, M Floor, Wyndham Grand Doha West Bay Beach

This workshop, co-organized by WIPO AMC, QICDRC and ILA GCC Branch, offers a practical and in-depth exploration of mediation and arbitration for intellectual property (IP) and technology disputes, focusing on the procedures and services of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center. Designed for legal professionals, judges, corporate counsels, and policymakers, it blends expert presentations, real case studies, and hands-on guidance to build a clear understanding of how to resolve disputes effectively through alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

Alongside global best practices, the program will highlight the growing role of ADR in Qatar and the MENA region, where courts and institutions increasingly use mediation and arbitration to deliver faster, cost-effective, and innovation-friendly outcomes. A central theme will be court-referred mediation, examining how courts encourage parties to mediate, the responsibilities of all stakeholders, and how WIPO’s framework can complement national court systems.

Key topics include WIPO’s mediation and arbitration rules, the roles of parties and mediators, best practices in court-referred mediation, case examples, drafting effective ADR clauses, and regional perspectives on integrating WIPO procedures into domestic and cross-border strategies. Participants will also explore the full journey from negotiation to mediation, core skills for effective resolution, the benefits of mediation, the roles of different actors, the stages of a mediation, deal mediation for commercial agreements, and mechanisms for court-referred mediation.

Led by senior experts from WIPO, international law firms, and regional courts, the workshop provides both procedural insight and practical tools applicable in domestic, regional, and international contexts.

Sessions Leaders:

1. Faisal Rashid Al Sahouti – CEO, Qatar International Court
2. Ignacio De Castro Llamas – Director, WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
3. Amer Abu-Sham – Legal Case Manager, WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
4. Dr. Zain Al Abdin Sharar – Senior Legal Counsel, The Office of the CEO, Qatar International Court
5. Honorable Judge Dr. Nehad Alhusban – Judge, Supreme Court of Jordan
6. Diana Abul Adel – Senior Associate, Al Tamimi & Company, Intellectual Property / Dispute Resolution
7. Jalal El Ahdab – Partner, Dispute Resolution Group, Bird & Bird, Paris, France
8. Myriam Eid – Head of Arbitration and ADR Practice, Rashed Raja Al-Marri Law Office, Doha, Qatar

Speakers

Faisal Rashid Al-Sahouti

Chief Executive Officer

Faisal Rashid Al-Sahouti leads the strategic development and administration of the Qatar International Court, the QFC Regulatory Tribunal and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre. 

Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive Officer, he worked closely with the Court’s senior international judges on case management and projects related to the growth and development of the Court. He is also a member of the Judicial Advisory Board, where he contributes to drafting the laws and regulations of the Court and leads the delivery of the Qatar Law Forum.

Faisal holds a Bachelor of Law from Qatar University and an LL.M. in International Trade Law with Public International Law from Nottingham Trent University in the UK. He is also an accredited mediator by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) in London.  

Ignacio de Castro

Director, WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, Geneva, Switzerland

Ignacio de Castro is a Spanish lawyer and an English solicitor. Ignacio holds an LL.M. degree from King's College London. Before joining WIPO in 2002, he practiced with the law firms Baker & McKenzie, London and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, London in the areas of international arbitration and litigation.

Ignacio is responsible for the administration of mediation, arbitration and domain name cases filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center and the development and promotion of WIPO alternative dispute resolution (ADR). This includes implementing ADR collaborations concluded with IP, Copyright Offices and Courts, as well as establishing ADR procedures adapted to specific areas of intellectual property.

Amer Abu-Sham

Legal Case Manager WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center

Amer is a member of the New York State Bar and is registered as a trainee advocate with the Jordanian Bar Association. Amer holds an LL.M. from the University of Pittsburgh.  Prior to joining WIPO in 2024, Amer practiced law with major law firms in England and Jordan focusing on international arbitration and commercial disputes.  Additionally, Amer served as a judicial law clerk for a complex commercial litigation judge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and worked as a Lecturer of commercial law at a university in Bahrain, specializing in international dispute resolution and business law.

Amer is responsible for managing cross-border intellectual property and technology disputes, assisting intellectual property stakeholders in establishing ADR procedures adapted to their areas of activities, and raising awareness of WIPO's ADR services globally.
 

Dr. Zain Al Abdin Sharar

Senior Legal Counsel, CEO's Office, QICDRC

DR. ZAIN AL ABDIN SHARAR is Senior Legal Counsel IN the CEO’s Office at the Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre (QICDRC). He has over 23 years’ experience in the legal field.

Prior to joining the QICDRC, Dr. Sharar was the Director of Legal Affairs & Enforcement at the Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA). Dr. Sharar also served for three years on the QFMA’s disciplinary committee.

Dr. Sharar has taught corporate law and corporate governance at a number of Australian universities and has provided advice to board members of several Australian publicly listed companies. He worked at Qatar University for three years as an Assistant Professor of Commercial Law, where her taught companies law and arbitration law. He has also taught commercial law and maritime and aviation law at the Ahmad Bin Mohammed Military College in Qatar and has lectured on many topics at the Legal and Judicial Studies Centre at the Qatar Ministry of Justice.

Dr. Sharar is a certified mediator at the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution in London and a qualified practitioner arbitrator at the GCC Commercial Arbitration Centre. He has provided mediation and arbitration services in many commercial and construction cases. He also participates in ADR training programmes. He also has published numerous articles in scholarly journals.

Honorable Judge Dr. Nehad Alhusban

Judge, Supreme Court of Jordan

Judge Nehad Alhusban has been a judge since 2000 and is currently Judge at the Supreme Court of Jordan after serving as the President of the Amman Court of First Instance, as well as a member of the Jordanian Judicial Council.

As an expert and lecturer in intellectual property, she holds a PhD in criminal law from the University of Jordan, as well as a Master's in Comparative Law (LLM), from the J. Reuben Clark Law School. She earned a Master's of Laws (LLM) in Intellectual Property and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University Of Jordan, a Diploma in Law from the Judicial Institute of Jordan, and a Diploma in Small and Medium Enterprises from the Turin Institute in Italy. Judge Alhusban is also a trainer and a member of the Arab Society for Intellectual Property, member of the Moot Court Competition, and a member of numerous committees for law in Jordan.

She is also Members of the WIPO Advisory Board of Judges for 2023-2024.

Diana Abu Al Adel

Senior Associate, Al Tamimi & Company, Intellectual Property / Dispute Resolution

Diana Abu Al Adel is a Senior Associate in the Intellectual Property and Dispute Resolution practices in Qatar.

Diana is a qualified lawyer in Jordan since 2007. Before joining AlTamimi & Company, she acted as a Legal Counsel for several years, advising on various IP related matters including drafting and redrafting legal bilingual documents, meeting with clients and providing consultations on IP litigations.

Diana joined AlTamimi & Company in 2016 in Bahrain before moving to Qatar in 2017, bringing valuable regional legal experience to the team which she has gained from working in Jordan, Bahrain and now Qatar.

Diana is specialized mainly in Intellectual Property/Dispute Resolution, including extensive experience in IP litigations, commercial agency and distribution disputes, commercial disputes, and drafting and redrafting bilingual documents including commercial agreements.

Diana regularly advises national and global clients on a variety of complex intellectual property matters including trademark registrations, IP fillings, protection of IP rights, IP disputes, IP due diligence, trademark licenses and company name registrations, and other IP related matters. Diana also regularly advises clients on commercial agency and distribution matters, compliance and tender law matters, cybercrimes and online safety including minors’ cases.

Diana has been included as a Global Leader in the WTR Global Leaders 2024 – Private Practice and ranked as a Recommended Individual in the WTR 1000 rankings for the year 2024.

Jalal El Ahdab

Partner, Dispute Resolution Group, Bird & Bird, Paris, France

Jalal El Ahdab is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution Group at Bird & Bird in Paris, heading the firm’s Arbitration Department in France and active in its UAE and soon KSA practices. He has acted as counsel, arbitrator, mediator, or expert in more than 250 cases involving shareholders’ disputes, state-related matters, class actions, joint ventures, and complex commercial issues across Europe, Africa, and the MENA region. His sector experience spans aerospace, energy, telecoms, construction, life sciences, and sports.

He has held leadership and advisory roles in major arbitration institutions, including the ICC International Court and Commission, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, WIPO, VIAC, CIMAC, MARC, and the French Arbitration Association. Jalal is admitted to practice in Beirut, Paris, and New York, and is fluent in Arabic, English, and French.

Myriam Eid

Head of Arbitration and ADR Practice, Rashed Raja Al-Marri Law Office, Doha, Qata

Myriam leads the office’s Arbitration and ADR practice and has more than 15 years of experience in the conduct of international and domestic arbitration proceedings (ad hoc and institutional) in the MENA Region, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and Lebanon. Prior to joining , Myriam was a partner and the head of the arbitration practice in a leading law firm in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.
Myriam advises companies, state entities, contractors, owners and operators on the resolution of complex disputes, particularly in the construction and engineering industries.
Myriam is a lecturer in international arbitration at the school of law of the Holy-Spirit University of Kaslik and at the LLM Support Program of the University of London in Beirut. She is also the main coach for the USEK Vis Moot team and has contributed to several scholarly articles and studies on arbitration and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in the MENA Region.
Myriam is a member of the following committees:
•    The Scientific Committee of the Lebanese Arbitration Center of the Beirut Bar Association
•    The Middle East and Greener Arbitration Committees of the ERA Pledge (Equal Representation in International Arbitration)
•    The Center for International Commerce and Dispute Resolution of the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (Assistant Director)
•    The ICC YAF (Representative 2017-2019)
 

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