...

IP Commercialisation & Licensing

The commercialisation of IP involves the extraction of value from IP.  Our expert knowledge and experience in this field enables us to advise and assist our clients with all the transactions required to extract value for their IP. We advise on the licensing, transfer and sale of IP, either as asset sale transactions or as part of a larger business concern.

The licensing of IP is an agreement between the owner of the IP and a third party in terms of which the owner of the IP grants the third party certain rights and permission to do something that would be an infringement of the IP owner’s rights without such licence.
 

We assist our clients with:

  • Selecting the appropriate model for IP commercialisation
  • Negotiation, structuring and drafting licence agreements, while advising on deal structuring, tax structuring and exchange control approval
  • Drafting of specialised license agreements for example:
    • Trade Marks & brands licensing
    • Patent, Design and Know-How licensing
    • Copyright licensing & publishing agreements
    • Material transfer agreements
    • Franchise agreements
    • Development license agreements
    • Product distribution agreements
    • Manufacturing license agreements
    • Cross Border license agreements
    • Technology transfer & pooling agreements
    • Cross licensing agreements
    • Software license, development and maintenance agreement
  • Identifying what license type and licensing strategy will best suit your objectives
  • Conducting of IP due diligences for license agreements, M&A transactions and other transactions
  • Developing of special strategies for licensing to and from joint ventures and collaborative arrangements
  • Management and control of confidential information
  • Drafting and advising on suitable royalty terms
  • Management of the license agreement from pre-contractual negotiations to post termination obligations
  • The structuring of IP within company groups, and the management of IP within such company groups
  • Drafting IP policies and manuals to enable clients to manage the protection and use of their IP