Agreements, trade marks and disputes
Intellectual property rights exist in many forms – from copyright, design right, patents and trade marks, through to confidential information and trade secrets. Whilst some types of intellectual property rights require formal registration to be protected, others exist automatically.
Whether you realise it or not, the chances are that you will come into contact with multiple types of intellectual property on an almost daily basis – whether at work (your company’s logo, the software that automates your production line, the product that you manufacture), or outside the office (streaming the most recent episode of the latest must-watch series).
As these examples demonstrate, intellectual property can be extremely valuable and, in some instances, may be a business’ core asset. As a consequence, the right advice should always be sought as to how best to exploit and protect that intellectual property.
At Nelsons, we have a team of specialist solicitors, qualified to advise on both exploitation and protection of intellectual property.
Commercialisation of intellectual property
Our intellectual property solicitors can prepare and prosecute applications for trade mark registrations, as well as advising on and drafting a wide range of agreements to allow for exploitation of intellectual property, such as:
- Research and development agreements;
- Assignments;
- Royalty based licences; and
- Agency and distribution arrangements.
If you are exploiting your intellectual property online, we can prepare suitable online sales terms to make sure you are protected.
We have also developed a suite of online documents, suitable for the more straightforward transactions, which clients can use to create their own agreements, which will then be checked by one of the team.
Enforcement of intellectual property
Like any valuable asset, intellectual property can find itself at the heart of a dispute. Our intellectual property solicitors routinely advise rights’ holders and those against whom allegations of infringement have been made, on issues ranging from subsistence and validity through to infringement and ownership.
Where Court proceedings are necessary, our team has considerable experience in pursuing and defending litigation in both the High Court and Intellectual Property Enterprise Court.