Intellectual Property Due Diligence

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.

Our due diligence services include:

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.

A tailored approach to IP due diligence

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.