It is crucial that you understand your intellectual property rights in your company’s assets. Our clients are often surprised to learn they may not have full ownership and rights to their intangible assets. Why is this the case? Often because the transfer of intellectual property rights has not been appropriately dealt with.
What is intellectual property?
Types of intellectual property includes registered and unregistered trade marks, designs, patents, copyright, rights to information like know-how, trade secrets and technical information and more. Examples of intellectual property include the contents of your website, the product you manufacture, and the technical advice you provide.
What is a common misconception about intellectual property?
The most common misconception we see is just because you paid a third party to develop a website, document, product or some other asset, your company automatically owns the intellectual property rights in that asset – that isn’t necessarily true.
How do I know if I own the intellectual property in the asset?
The answer to this question is in the details, or rather, the terms of your agreement with the third party that developed your asset. So, what might legal ownership and right to the intellectual property in the asset look like? The fundamental terms will address the following:
- the intellectual property rights in the asset have been unconditionally assigned to the company; and
- the developer of the asset has consented to infringements of their moral rights.
What it won’t look like is a licence provided by the third party to your company to use the asset as this isn’t the same as an assignment of intellectual property rights.
Why is it important I understand whether I own the intellectual property in the asset?
If you’re looking to sell your business or the shares in your company, a buyer is going to consider whether they are going to receive the full benefit of the company’s assets. If the company doesn’t have legal ownership and right to the intellectual property rights in an asset, your commercial position may weaken along with your bargaining power.
Concerned about your IP, contact our business team on 07 3224 0265
