IP Management & Value
Definition IP specialise in IP management and strategy. Whether you are a start-up, or an established business we can assist in evaluating your innovation and developing your IP portfolio. Areas we can assist in include:
- Freedom to Operate (FTO)
- IP Education
- IP Audits
- Trade secrets
- Know-how
Freedom to Operate
Freedom to operate refers to your ability to commercialise or otherwise exploit your products or services without infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties. Typically, a freedom to operate opinion involves carrying out a ‘clearance’ search in the territory of interest, before analysing any enforceable intellectual property rights to determine whether your proposed actions would constitute an infringement of those rights.
IP Education
Do you and your staff know how to identify potential intellectual property rights within your organisation? and how to ensure that best practices are followed to maximise your ability to obtain and monetise your intellectual property? Speak to us to see how we can assist with IP Education strategies.
IP Audits
Much like any audit, an IP audit is a systematic review or inventory of certain assets that are held by a company – in this case intangible intellectual assets rather than the tangible stock or buildings. An IP audit will generally cover not only the more visible IP that has been registered, such as Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, but also unregistered rights, know-how, trade secrets and other aspects such as key relationships. An IP Audit can be crucial to understanding what it is that you’ve got, and what you may have soon, as once the assets are identified their importance and value can be determined and a strategy put in place to ensure that the company is leveraging as much value as possible out of their, often under-utilized or undervalued, assets. IP audits are particularly useful if you looking at a period of growth or change in the company, both in the start-up stages and for established businesses.
An IP audit can often act as a springboard to:
- build new revenue streams;
- · ensure current revenue streams are protected;
- · mitigate any identified risks;
- · improve or maximise the valuation of a company – particularly useful during fundraising;
- · identify assets as security in financial transactions;
- · determine where assets should be held in a company restructuring; and
- · develop an ongoing IP strategy.
Download our guide to preparing for an IP Audit below.
Trade Secrets
Trade secrets generally describe confidential business information, which may relate to commercial or industrial practices of an organisation. Types of trade secret include formulations, industrial practices, designs and configurations. There is no registration procedure for trade secrets, meaning that they can, in theory, be protected indefinitely. However is important to ensure that appropriate systems are in place to identify, and maintain confidentiality of trade secrets within your organisation.
Further information on trade secrets can be found on the World Intellectual Property Organisation website.
You can also download our quick guide to managing your trade secrets below.
Know-how
Know-how refers to practical knowledge, which may often be licensed along with other intellectual property rights.
