You are in discussions with a potential investor, a potential joint venture partner, a licensee or a distributor of your intellectual property. Protecting your intellectual property is critical. Can you trust them? Will they walk away with your intellectual property? How do you protect yourself?
Protecting your intellectual property:
Pre-engagement
- Ensure all parties sign a confidentiality agreement before any meeting
- Where feasible and appropriate, secure protection for your intellectual property prior to any meeting
- Produce an agenda setting out key discussion points
- Know who is attending the meeting
- Keep meeting minutes
- Follow up meetings with a short email summarising the discussions, key action points, and agreed positions
- Include confidentiality and copyright notices on all documents shared at the meeting
- Only circulate documents in pdf format
During your engagement
Now you have agreed to work together:
- Ring fence will receive documents and information regarding your intellectual property
- Ensure you have appropriate access control measures in place
- Keep records and copies of all documents and information you disclose
- Password protects and encrypts sensitive or confidential documents and information
- Ensure proper contractual agreements are in place to secure your ownership and protection of your intellectual property
REMEMBER: PAYMENT ≠ OWNERSHIP
- Ensure, where relevant, all newly developed intellectual property is properly protected
Post-engagement
When the relationship comes to an end …
- Ensure confidential documents and information regarding your intellectual property are returned to you or destroyed
- Ensure copies of any intellectual property developed during the engagement are delivered to you
- Store all documents, meeting notes, etc securely
How can we help?
- Advise on appropriate Intellectual Property Protection
- Review and draft Confidentiality or Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
- Review and draft Intellectual Property or Copyright Assignment or clauses in agreements with third parties – to ensure ownership and protection of your intellectual property
- Advise on confidentiality and copyright notices
- Provide Legal Training to raise awareness in your organisation around the protection of your intellectual property
Interested?
If you are interested, please complete the form on the right or enquire now. We will contact you to find out more about your requirements and give you a quote.
