Lawyer Monthly Magazine - April 2019 Edition

LM90-17 61 First Choice Lawyers www. lawyer-monthly .com APR 2019 to be incurred in restoring and negotiating rights. Moreover, the government fees to be paid in various jurisdictions, attorney and disbursement expenses, add further cost. Legitimate ownership and enforceability of intellectual assets to be purchased must be ascertained before making a purchase. The purchase should not result in any potential loss or impairment of intellectual assets owned by the purchaser. It must be ascertained that the purchase is in no way a violation of already existing licenses or co-existence agreements to which the purchaser is already a party. Obviously, the purchaser must ensure to receive ownership and right to all circumventing agreements relating to the asset portfolio. In what instances is licensing an intellectual property portfolio a more viable option? Licensing an intellectual property portfolio is always a great option when considering immediate commercial exploitation in multiple jurisdictions without worrying about enforceability and maintenance of intellectual assets. With limited Research renewals with the demand to have all intellectual assets renewed for a term of at least two years, prior to execution of an agreement to purchase. A review of agreements executed by the portfolio owner must be done to confirm the legitimate title, right and enjoyment of claimed intellectual assets in absolute terms. A review must be done of the already existing licence and restriction agreements. Some countries regulate intellectual property agreements by specific parliamentary law and thus assistance must be taken from country specific local attorneys to ensure enforceability of assignments and agreements relating to the portfolio. What can go wrong, when trying to make the purchase of an intellectual property portfolio? Most intellectual property portfolio purchases of intellectual assets go wrong on valuation and are usually overvalued. In particular, a purchase covering various jurisdictions with non-renewed assets can result in major enforceability issues. Obviously, such purchases are a financial burden with additional costs CONTACT Amit Aswal, Managing Partner anovIP, Level 3, 45/1, Corner Market, Malviya Nagar, New Delhi-110017, INDIA Tel: (+91) 1141 8355 50 E: amit@anovip.com www.anovip.com and Development funds, licensing is a great way to scale up operations and focus on product development. These organisations can derive great benefits by relying on already existing and enforceable intellectual property. Also, one may consider for a time limited licence to save cost and alignment with business strategies. If negotiated well, restricted licence rights can costs less than the cost associated with creating and maintaining intellectual assets. Also, depending on budget and business, a licence can be taken on exclusive and non- exclusive terms. Obviously, a licence can be used for both offensive and defensive purposes. Most startups, with almost no budget for research and development, tend to seek a licence as mean to secure immediate intellectual property protection besides a right to protected technology. Depending on the nature of intellectual property, licences can assist, not just in technology advancements, but assist in brand positioning. Additionally, a licence can be exploited to enter new markets entry to which may otherwise result in infringement suits. LM ABOUT MR AMIT ASWAL AND THE FIRM Mr Amit Aswal is the Founder and Managing Partner of AnovIP, an intellectual prop- erty practice headquartered in India which houses profes- sional staff of over 150 expe- rienced attorneys, agents, associates, technical consult- ants/experts, paralegals, and support staff. Mr Aswal a nat- ural leader with expertise in a plethora of intellectual prop- erty focused services such as: filing, prosecution, creation, management and moneti- zation of intellectual assets; mitigation of potential intel- lectual property infringement lawsuits; intellectual property portfolio management; intel- lectual property valuation, and many more. His success is chalked out of his proficien- cy in negotiating and closing complex IP transactions - a proficiency that stems from his distinct understanding of technical, legal and eco- nomic characteristics of intel- lectual property and a keen eye over changing market trends. Mr Aswal’s team ren- ders gamut of intellectual property services through his global offices located across South Asia including but not limited to: India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Philip- pines, Singapore, Thailand, Maldives and Nepal.