IE Due Diligence

IE Due Diligence: insight into the value of innovation

In mergers, investments, and collaborations, due diligence is an essential part of the decision-making process.

Traditionally, the focus has been on financial, tax, and legal risks. However, in practice, it appears that intellectual property rights do not receive the same attention. Although intellectual property often represents a significant portion of a company's value, the risks in this area often come to light only later.

Our office has therefore assembled a specialized IP due diligence team that focuses on mapping these aspects.

Why IP Due Diligence?

Intellectual property rights and technological assets are increasingly at the heart of a company. Think of:

• copyright, trademarks, designs, and patents;
• databases, software, and know-how;
• licensing and collaboration agreements;

A good understanding of these rights and obligations is essential to:

• accurately estimate the actual value of the company;
• identify potential risks (such as unclear ownership or infringement of third-party rights);
• map contractual limitations or dependencies; and
• assess whether the IP position is sufficiently future-proof.

Our approach

Our IP Due Diligence is practical and tailored to the nature of the transaction.
We work with a multidisciplinary team consisting of:

• lawyers specialized in IP law;
• trademark and design agents; and
• patent agents.

Thanks to this combination, we can delve into the legal, technical, and strategic aspects of intellectual property.

We analyze, among other things:

• the ownership position of IP rights (patents, trademarks, designs, copyrights);
• licensing, transfer, and collaboration agreements;

The results are presented clearly in a straightforward due diligence report, including a risk analysis and, where relevant, recommendations for contractual safeguarding or mitigation of risks.

Collaboration

We regularly collaborate with law firms and accounting firms that do not have IP specialists in-house but need expert support within their due diligence process.

In such collaborations, we act as a substantive partner, not as a competitor:
our goal is to deepen the research on parts where specific knowledge is required so that the firm conducting the overall due diligence has a complete picture.

This collaboration can be structured in various ways, from a compact review of IP documentation to a full due diligence analysis as a separate part of a larger investigation.

Contact

Would you like to know more about our IP & IT Due Diligence services, or would you like to discuss how we can support you or your office or client?