Intellectual property becomes valuable at the point it is used commercially, which is also the point at which ownership and permission need to be documented.
We advise on what can be protected, how to record ownership across contractors and employees, and what to do when a right is infringed.
Matters handled in this area
- Trade mark clearance and registration
- Copyright and ownership documentation
- Confidentiality and trade secret protection
- Licensing and distribution agreements
- Assignment of rights on transfer or sale
- Infringement response and enforcement
How the work proceeds
- 01
Audit
We identify the rights the business relies on and where ownership is recorded, incomplete or disputed.
- 02
Protection
Registrations are filed where appropriate and agreements are put in place to secure ownership of created work.
- 03
Enforcement
Where a right is infringed, we set out the response options and the likely outcome of each before acting.
Common questions
- Should a mark be searched before it is used?
- A clearance search before launch is usually less costly than a rebrand or a dispute after the name is in the market.
- Who owns work produced by a contractor?
- That depends on the agreement in place. Without a written assignment, ownership frequently does not sit where a business assumes it does.