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Boult Wade Tennant has considerable experience in the provision of Due Diligence Reports in all areas of intellectual property.
The firm has seen a substantial increase in instructions from the investment and business communities to investigate the strength of IP portfolios of target businesses in the past few years and our attorneys are well-placed to carry out IP due diligence investigations over a wide range of technologies and for all types of businesses. Our attorneys are regularly asked to check portfolios of patents, trade marks and other rights in preparation for acquisitions, mergers, fundings and re-financings, and a specialist activity in which we have become increasingly involved is the provision of IP Due Diligence Reports for inclusion in company prospectus documentation for listings on the London Stock Exchange. Companies for which Boult Wade Tennant has provided this service include Phytopharm Ltd, Inion Oy and Napo Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Recent experience suggests that these days professional investors and financial analysts have a great deal more knowledge about all aspects of IP and understand that mere numbers or assertions on a schedule are not necessarily an indication of a strong IP position. It is necessary to investigate whether patent applications which are still pending are actually likely to mature to grant and whether any granted patents would be likely to be considered valid if challenged by a third party. Indeed, sometimes we find that rights listed do not actually exist. The same is true of trade marks and other rights such as copyright and designs which also require thorough investigation. Where investors often need assistance is in deciding where the boundaries of a due diligence exercise should lie, in particular, balancing the time and budget available against the level of risk they are prepared to take.
As Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys we can assist in determining a reasonable scope for the report by indicating the areas which, from experience, we know to be fruitful avenues of investigation and considering the relevance of the different IP rights in relation to the actual commercial activities of the business.
From the 'company' perspective, there is generally a high level of awareness as to the importance of IP amongst the management teams in high technology companies and, increasingly, across all types of business, although the motivation to pursue IP rights tends to vary depending on the nature of the business. The opportunity to extend patent and trade mark portfolios is sometimes missed when a new idea or product comes along because of lack of manpower to progress the matter. A good relationship with Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys can help to ensure that intellectual property is well protected and put a company in better shape for the due diligence required in the event of a merger or acquisition, or to obtain funding.
For further information on IP Due Diligence, please contact Claire Baldock on 020 7430 7500 or at cbaldock@boult.com
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