Intellectual property for charities

Our experienced team of intellectual property solicitors advise and support clients with all aspects of intellectual property including audits, branding advice, protection of ideas and dispute resolution.

Intellectual property (IP) has become an increasingly important and valuable asset for all organisations. Our specialist intellectual property team has experience of advising organisations in all aspects of intellectual property law. We work in partnership with organisations facing intellectual property disputes and support them through the legal process of ensuring their intellectual property is protected.

We work with organisations to identify their core intellectual property and to understand how it is used within the organisation. We can then advise on strategies to protect, manage, develop and commercially exploit your intellectual property rights.

IP refers to creations of the mind, such as literary and artistic works, designs, names and images used in commerce. Intellectual property is protected by law under copyright, patents, designs and trademarks, but while some types of protection apply automatically, you will have to apply for other, more complex, types of protection.

Having the right type of intellectual property protection helps you to stop people stealing or copying:

• The names of products or brands
• Inventions
• The design or look of products
• Things your organisation write, make or produce.

Supporting clients in all areas of intellectual property (IP) law

We work with clients to ensure that their intellectual property (IP) is protected and help them to implement strategies to minimise the risk of future disputes. Our intellectual property services include:

• Protecting brand assets - including a charity’s name and research property, advising on copyright and licensing laws and ensuring protection of brand assets and other intellectual property.
• Intellectual property audits - identifying your rights, how these are used and how they might be at risk.
• Technology supplier advice - finalising the standard terms and conditions you offer to customers or resellers, advising on negotiated contracts, and wider business advice such as finance, joint ventures and business sale, purchases and mergers.
• Advice for buyers of ICT - working with your team to negotiate contracts for business-critical systems or services. Contracts could include server hosting or other outsourcings, buying a new ecommerce website, service-level agreements, change controls, or buying business management software.
• ICT risk and compliance advice - helping you build compliance and risk management into your business, with advice on website regulations, defamation, confidentiality, discrimination, consumer law, data protection and your contractual obligations.
• Branding advice - providing guidance on trademark or domain name registrations, brand launches or re-branding exercises and preparing comprehensive enforcement strategies, including action against spite sites and internal education policies.
• Protection of ideas - advising on confidentiality agreements, registration of rights such as patents, designs and trademarks, and how to protect your unregistered rights such as copyright and database rights.
• Exploitation of your rights - preparing licences, assignments and distribution agreements of your IP rights, and recommending ways to increase royalty or other revenue streams.
• Development of your IP - advising on internal research and development, collaboration agreements and joint ventures with third parties to develop and expand your rights.
• Enforcement of your IP - preventing the infringement of your rights or resolving ownership disputes, whether by negotiation or through formal proceedings.

Our solicitors are passionate about delivering expert legal advice to support your organisation to achieve a successful resolution to your legal issues. Our advice is practical and clear and we work with our clients to guide them through every step of the legal process. Our experienced teams have extensive sector knowledge and experience to assist you through periods of uncertainty, change and difficulty.

If you would like further information about intellectual property or how our experienced law team can help you, please get in touch.