In the course of their life, intellectual property rights can be used to advantage in a variety of ways: they can be transferred or used to advantage within the company. In numerous cases, several entities are involved (depositor, company, laboratory, university, etc.).
It is thus necessary to contractually manage the terms of the expected return at the various stages of the life of intellectual property, such as know-how for example.
The VIDON Group assists you in your contractual procedures, starting with the audit to identify the appropriate contractual requirements, all the way to negotiations and registration with the industrial property offices in the countries concerned. This of course includes the writing of contracts and agreements.
Preliminary audit
The VIDON Group provides its clients with its experts to analyze the economic situation and expectations of the parties, as a first stage. This stage is essential to determine the most appropriate contract optimization process for the specific case submitted by the client.
Contract negotiation and writing
Once the preliminary audit has been completed, the VIDON Group focuses on writing the contract that best suits its clients’ requirements. The most frequently used include the following:
Confidentiality agreement
Good management of confidentiality often prevents the loss of the opportunity to obtain rights which are subject to novelty criteria, like the patent, or in a general way, the dissemination of secret commercial information.
Thus, before any exchange of sensitive information, it is essential to ensure the security of the transmission of this information through the signing of an efficient confidentiality agreement, thereby avoiding the frequently encountered pitfalls.
Our experts will propose appropriate legal documents, written to avoid problems relating to disclosure.
Collaboration agreement
Within the framework of active collaboration for the development of new products, it is necessary to identify at a very early stage the contributors and beneficiaries of the rights on the new products stemming from the collaboration.
Our expert contract writers and negotiators assist their clients in each of the discussion stages, and help them when they feel the need to materialize the content of the exchanges.
Know-how transfer agreement
Know-how is often a key element in the value of assets.
Because of its totally intangible nature, it is often “forgotten” in the implementation of collaboration agreements or within the scope of transfers. The VIDON Group has built a strong reputation for the protection and contractual recognition of a company’s know-how. This know-how can be used to advantage in various ways: it may be transferred in exchange for financing or a stake in a company, or active collaboration.
License agreement
Any holder of intellectual property rights may license such rights, i.e. grant the total or partial use of the rights in exchange for compensation.
When a holder grants a third party the use of these rights, the signing of a license agreement is often advisable. To provide better information to third parties, it must also be registered with the offices concerned.
Assignment agreement
The assignment of intellectual property rights is a way of getting value for your assets.
The VIDON Group assists you in the writing of assignment agreements and in the financial valuation of the rights assigned
Coexistence and transaction agreement
In the event of a dispute concerning intellectual property rights, amicable settlement is often the preferred approach.
The agreement between the parties must be formalized in order to avoid any subsequent dispute.
The VIDON Group has developed expertise in the negotiation and writing of coexistence and transaction agreements.
Contract recordal
A large part of the agreements concerning industrial property rights must be registered in order to be enforceable against third parties and allow legal action for infringement.
The VIDON Group assists its clients with the procedures involved in the registration of agreements (assignments, licenses, pledges, etc.) with the different offices concerned, creates ad hoc contracts, handles their translation where necessary, and assists you with your formalities</p