We assist our clients with the creation, development, and ultimate sale of businesses and corporations and we are always surprised at how little importance is placed on the Intellectual Property (IP) of these businesses, even though at the end of the day it often forms the largest value component of our clients’ companies.
Most people think of IP as being trademarks and designs. It covers in fact all the assets that form the value of your company, be it customer price lists, Licence Agreements, website domains, marketing materials, software, and distribution methods.
Why Audit Your IP?
While conducting due diligence, we find glaring omissions to safeguard trade secrets or confidential information and the use of such by employees. We also come across restrictive covenants that are unenforceable or non-existent. We frequently see cases where trademarks have been used for years but not registered in all of the applicable countries nor in the relevant categories. We find instances where copyright is claimed but is impossible to prove, or discover it has been developed but that third parties claim ownership. We usually see little effort being made to protect know-how and few steps being taken to manage the risks surrounding such proprietary expertise.
Protecting your IP is an ongoing effort, evolving as your business expands and develops. However, the first step is to assess the current IP belonging to your organisation, by thoroughly auditing your trademarks, copyright, patents, trade secrets, registered designs, IP-relevant contracts and undertaking a SWOT analysis of all these IP assets.
Our IP Audit Fixed Fee Packages
As part of our drive to assist our clients to safeguard their Intellectual Property, we undertake a robust IP Audit for you on a fixed fee basis, customised to the size and attributes of your business.
Contact us: If you would like to learn more about our IP Audit Service, please contact Liz Kenyon, Client Relationship Manager, on [email protected], or Ruby Ng, Director of Operations, on [email protected].
A Selection* of the 48 Questions from the OLN Intellectual Property Audit Checklist©
Trademarks
Copyright
Trade secrets
Licensing agreements
Employment and independent contractor agreements
Other agreements
Evaluating and managing risks
SWOT analysis
We would also undertake a SWOT analysis of your Intellectual Property:
*A full version of this questionnaire is available for our clients on a complimentary basis.