IP Audit

With a wide variety of Intellectual Property (IP) rights available, it follows that, even within a small organisation, there is potential for a wide and varied selection of IP to be created. Quite often such IP will result from specific time, resource and financial investment and it can prove particularly important to the owner of such rights that they become aware of their existence at an early stage so that an informed decision can be taken as to whether, and what, protection should be sought to protect that investment.  

 For a company wishing to protect such property, with a view to realising its commercial potential as a defensive and/or offensive tool, it is important that the likely source of the IP should be identified and that the relevant information generated by that source catalogued and assessed as quickly as possible so as not to prejudice the validity of the protection likely to be available for that subject matter.

 In addition to conducting IP Audits for clients in order to assess the nature of any IP rights that might already be in existence, we also have broad experience in assisting clients in establishing appropriate procedures, for example for "invention harvesting", so that potential IP can be identified in the most suitable and efficient manner given a client’s internal and administrative structure. The teams of attorneys within W.P. Thompson & Co. offer a broad range of experience and specialisations across the whole IP spectrum which can be readily called upon to cover the full extent of a client’s potential rights and interests irrespective of technical area and having regard to the full potential range of geographic interest.

 Our core activity here is to maximise the benefits that a client can obtain from its creativity.