Between the formal and the informal: ‘Repeat players’, ‘one-shotters’ and case trajectories in intellectual property infringement litigation at the Scottish Court of Session

This article presents findings from new empirical research into intellectual property (‘IP’) infringement litigation at the Court of Session in Scotland, analysing a dataset of Court of Session IP actions created from court files for the seven-year period from 2008 to 2014. The data provides significant new insights into the dynamics of IP infringement litigation over the lifecycle of a court action, highlighting the intersection of ‘formal’ court processes with ‘informal’ out-of-court decision-making and settlement at all stages throughout the litigation process. Examining, among other matters, the relative experiences of ‘repeat players’ and ‘one-shotters’, this article also considers the aptness, or otherwise, of aspects of economic and socio-legal disputing theory in the context of IP infringement disputes.