Intellectual property (IP) is a significant asset for many businesses and can, in some cases, surpass the value of tangible property such as premises or stock – IP goes to the very heart of health tech businesses.
It is therefore important for a health tech business to fully understand and harness it’s IP position; an IP Audit is a discovery exercise that we at Stephens Scown can undertake to help you understand your IP position, identify any grey areas, and formulate an IP strategy.
Businesses from many different industries and sectors have benefitted from our IP Audit reports; some of the beneficiaries of our IP Audit service (specifically in the health technology space) include Safe Space One Ltd, Envisionit Deep AI Ltd and Cineon Training Limited.
Health tech businesses and IP
Health tech is a fast-expanding industry; the growth of the sector is somewhat unsurprising: advances in technology such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality provide plentiful opportunities for innovation, and the increasing importance society places on fitness, health, and wellbeing signals strong potential for investors. That said, there are certain legal complexities and implications that health tech businesses need to address when providing IT services – namely ensuring the ownership and use provisions are where they need to be and making sure that its terms of service and licence agreements are fit for purpose.
Some key areas for consideration are outlined below:
- Open source code
- Third party APIs and software
- Design rights in interface
- Copyright of technical specifications
- Copyright of source and object code
- Using third party developers and contractors
- University projects and collaborations
- Consortium agreements
- Branding and trade marks
The creation, ownership, use and commercialisation of the software, supporting features and branding are key issues which a health tech business should appreciate and understand. An IP Audit can help a business to understand these concepts and form an IP strategy. It is recommended to take specialist legal advice from IP and IT lawyers – we have expert IP and IT lawyers who are on hand to assist.
How we can help
We have expertise in conducting IP Audits, having produced over 122 IP Audit reports since 2020. We can work with you to understand your business and produce an IP Audit catered to how you operate. Such a report may prove to be an invaluable resource as you look to commercialise your IP and develop your business within this fast-growing space. We can also help you to execute the IP strategy, including but not limited to software as a service agreements, IP assignment agreements, software development agreements, end user licence agreements, advice on trade marks and design protection – and more!
If you have any questions or would like to find out more about our IP Audit offering, please contact Amy Ralston, solicitor in our Intellectual Property and Technology team.