IP Due Diligence can mean different things to different people, but ultimately it’s about providing confidence about the existence, ownership and quality of IP assets, and understanding the extent to which you are free to carry out commercial activities in view of third party IP rights. Our experienced team provides a range of due diligence services, tailored to the project at hand, to provide you with that confidence and understanding.
We have a wealth of
experience in providing IP due diligence services for clients with differing needs. This includes supporting companies in auditing
their own IP rights prior to a fundraising round or initial public offering,
and reducing risk for clients considering acquisition or licensing of third
party patents, trade marks and/or designs.
We also provide “off the shelf” due diligence packages to verify status
and ownership details of IP rights for service providers handling transactions
involving IP.
Assessment of coverage of commercial products/processes by IP rights, to determine whether they provide the scope of protection needed;
Reviewing and assessing the strength of IP, from brief identification of potential issues for a single IP right, to detailed assessment of entire IP portfolios;
Freedom to operate, evaluating the risk
of whether a proposed activity will infringe the IP rights
of others; and
Data extraction/verification, such as status checks
to verify existence/ownership.
Alongside
the above we offer related services where needed. For example, we can inform about prosecution
strategies to maximise the value of the IP and, in cases where our due
diligence investigations identify chain of title issues, we can advise
regarding options for addressing such issues.
We are
highly experienced in carrying out freedom to operate studies to investigate
third party IP rights, e.g. for clients wanting to reassure potential investors
about their ability to commercialise their technology, or for companies
considering acquisition of third-party technology.
We pride
ourselves on understanding our clients and being able to meet their needs, and
do not believe in a “one size fits all” approach. For some clients, the ability to provide
responsive and accurate information regarding the status and ownership of IP
rights meets their requirements. In
other cases, we work hand-in-hand with clients in order to identify an approach
appropriate to the situation. It may
often be difficult to decide at the outset what should be done, and this is
where our experience comes to the fore.
For example, we regularly carry out phased due diligence studies,
providing key basic information at an early stage to feed into the
decision-making process, and then if required carrying out further due
diligence investigations to provide a
more complete understanding of the IP position.
In such
cases we do not apply a formulaic or academic approach to due diligence.
Instead, we are experts in assessing the situation and applying our knowledge
and experience to the key issues. This
approach combined with our appreciation of the need to deliver
commercially-relevant advice allows us to tailor our work to your needs.
We provide
real value in everything that we do. We work
to agreed deadlines, provide accurate cost estimates for specific due diligence
tasks, and for more involved projects will agree budgets and keep you advised
as to costs as the matter progresses.
To
learn more
If you
are looking more information about due diligence with regard to auditing your
own IP rights, or if you need support in investigating another party’s patents,
trade marks or registered designs, talk to us.
"Een zeer professioneel bedrijf dat ik anderen sterk heb aanbevolen."
Future plc
