Certain contracts are a must-have for any business.

But if you run a tech business, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ASSIGNMENT AGREEMENT ( IPAA) is a must-have for you.

Intellectual property is unarguably the most important or most valuable asset in a tech or tech-driven business.

Intellectual property are products of the mind...

that is, works, work products or inventions, software, artistic, literary images, words, symbols names, etc which are the results of creativity.

These can be protected through Copyright, Trademarks, Patents, industrial designs, or even via trade secret protection.

An intellectual property Assignment Agreement is a written contract that transfers the ownership right in anything ( work product) created by an employee, developer, consultant etc. to the company.

This makes the company rather than the creator the rightful owner of such invention.

There are basically two types of Intellectual Property Assignment Agreement...

(1) Technology Assignment Agreement

This is a written contract between a Company and a developer (not being an employee) in which the developer transfers the intellectual property rights in a software or work product to the company in exchange for cash or equity in the company.

(2) Invention Agreement:

This is a written contract between the company and the employees of the company whereby the employees transfer to the company in advance all the inventions, work products, designs etc. relating to the business of the company so that intellectual property rights in the inventions are owned by the company and not the employees.

Please understand that in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, Intellectual property rights belong to the creator of the work or work product in the first place.

So there is a legal need to actually transfer such rights to the company abi initio

An Intellectual Property Assignment Agreement ensures that all the rights in an invention, work product, software etc are assigned to the company and also helps in protecting the company against unhealthy rivalry and competition.

It also protects the company from future litigation and rightful claims in the future.

This also matters a lot to investors.

They want to know that the company actually owns the intellectual property rights in the software, work products, inventions etc. created by either the developer or employee before they decide to fund your business.

So if you run a tech start-up or you are thinking of starting or investing in a

tech business or tech-driven business among other things, this should be one very key area you should be concerned about.

There you go!

I hope this helps

Reach out now if you need any clarification or help...

We are here for you.

Cheers!

-Barinaada