Matthew Warren
Matthew is the Head of the Commercial IP Group at the law firm Bristows. He advises on transactions involving the development, exploitation and transfer of intellectual property rights. He has experience working in many sectors including the IT, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, telecommunications and digital media sectors. His scientific background is of particular assistance when advising organisations that are negotiating transactions involving new technologies. He has advised on a number of successful licensing programmes for the exploitation of new technologies on a world-wide basis.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Membership
- Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys
Education
- BSc Physics, Imperial College, London
- Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice, University of Bristol
1 Contributions by Matthew Warren
PRACTICE NOTES
IP in UK Corporate Joint Ventures: contribution, assignment or licence; improvements and access rights; branding; personnel and group issues; competition and tax; exit, dissolution and insolvency
Introduction
This Practice Note outlines several key IP matters to think about when establishing a joint venture (JV) by parties planning such an arrangement. It addresses the situation where two organisations (parent companies) create a JV as a separate legal body (eg a company or limited liability partnership) that they co-own that vehicle together. It does not cover the IP questions arising in contractual collaborations (where there is no separate entity) in any detail. IP considerations vary markedly for contractual collaborations by comparison.
Life cycle of a joint venture
It is especially crucial to assess IP concerns throughout all three stages of a JV’s existence from start to finish:
at its formation
during its lifetime, and
when it comes to an end
Parent companies should settle how to manage these points before starting the JV, to minimise the chance of disputes later on between them.
Formation of the joint venture
Contributing IP to the joint venture
Parent companies will typically hold technology, know-how, content or brands the JV must use to grow its business from the outset. They will need to agree precisely what each will provide, and whether the relevant IP ought to be assigned or licensed to the...
IP
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