Testimony at the Hearing

AuthorDavid A. Allgeyer
Pages89-98
89
Testimony at the Hearing
The heart of any arbitration hearing is, of course, the presenta-
tion of testimony. This is the chance for the arbitrator to hear,
usually in person, from the key actors for each side who were
actually on the scene as the dispute unfolded.
TRANSCRIPTS
Most arbitrators I know would prefer to have a transcript of tes-
timony if possible. Most arbitrators, like most lawyers, are quite
gifted note takers, having had decades of practice. But notes
often are not a perfect substitute for a verbatim transcript on
closely contested issues. The transcript gives everyone a way to
be precise about what the testimony was.
But most arbitrators are also committed to trying to keep
costs down if at all possible. So it is unlikely that an arbitrator
will ever insist or even suggest it is necessary that the parties
bear the additional costs of a transcript.
When is a transcript worth the cost? Here is one way to
think about it.
Many patent arbitrations are very document heavy. Often,
the real evidence is in the documents. In most patent cases, much
of the key evidence is found in the patents, prosecution history,
technical information about the involved products, financial doc-
uments, and the like. Explanations and discussion of these docu-
ments and the issues raised by them in testimony are important
CHAPTER 14

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT