Intellectual property agreements
There are a plethora of intellectual property rights in English law. Some are well known, such as copyright, patents and trade marks; others are less well known, such as moral rights and rights in designs; and some are almost unknown outside specialist circles, such as rights in typographical arrangements and plant variety rights.
There are two main kinds of pure intellectual property agreement: assignments and licences. An assignment of intellectual property is a document effecting the transfer of the ownership of intellectual property from one person to another. A licence of intellectual property rights is a document specifying that a person may do certain acts without infringing the owner's intellectual property rights.
Do you need a formal agreement?
If you are assigning the ownership of intellectual property, this should always be in writing by means of a formal agreement. Many IP rights cannot be properly assigned without a written document. For example, Section 90(3) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 says that "an assignment of copyright is not effective unless it is in writing signed by or on behalf of the assignor".
Licences of IP should also usually be written down (especially exclusive licences). For example, a licence will not be an exclusive licence within the meaning of the 1988 Act unless it is "in writing signed by or on behalf of the copyright owner" (Section 92(1)).
Drafting issues and IP agreements
Common issues to consider when drafting an intellectual property agreement are:
- the definition of the intellectual property that is being licensed or assigned;
- warranties and indemnities given by the licensor or assignor in relation to the IP;
- the circumstances, if any, in which a licence may be cancelled or the rights assigned revert; and
- the treatment of related moral rights.
Template contracts
If you are simply looking for a template document, please visit our website at Template-contracts.co.uk - where you can purchase and download a ready-made intellectual property agreement templates.
Our services: IP contracts
We have expertise in the drafting and negotiation of intellectual property contracts and agreements. You can get a general idea of the fees we charge by looking at the left-hand column. If you would like a definite quote, please either call us on +44 (0)1491 834695 or complete the form below (and we will contact you).
