Claire Smith
Claire is a partner in Bristows’ market-leading Commercial IP practice.
Clients seek Claire’s support on many different types of commercial arrangements involving their most valuable assets - their inventions, ideas, technologies, brands, designs, software and content. These include anything from high value research collaboration and licensing deals, through to the intellectual property aspects of corporate or joint venture transactions, the large majority of which are cross-border.
She works with a wide variety of organisations - ranging from start‑ups, SMEs and academic institutions to global multinationals and household names - and across a range of industries, most notably the life sciences, technology, media and consumer product sectors.
Before becoming a lawyer, Claire spent a number of years working in quality assurance and operations roles in Abbott Laboratories' medical device business. Since being at Bristows, Claire has spent time seconded to the in‑house legal team of a leading global pharmaceutical company. Claire is also a member of the UK BioIndustry Association’s Intellectual Property Advisory Committee.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2003
Membership
- BioIndustry Association – member of the BIA’s Intellectual Property Advisory Committee
- LES (Licensing Executives Society)
Qualifications
- Law (MA), University of Oxford (1993)
- Post-graduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice, University of Bristol (2005)
Education
- University of Oxford (1990-1993)
2 Contributions by Claire Smith
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
PRACTICE NOTES
IP Licensing under English Law: A Practical Guide to Drafting, Negotiation, Enforcement, Payments and Termination, with Post-Brexit, UPC, Competition, Data and Registration Considerations
Licensing IP rights—introduction
Preparing IP licences often throws up intricate commercial and legal considerations, typically demanding extensive bargaining.
This Practice Note highlights the principal, practical matters to weigh up before you draft and while you negotiate an IP licence, seen from both licensor and licensee viewpoints.
At its core, an IP licence is the licensor’s consent allowing the licensee to use IP that it would otherwise be barred from exploiting.
Owners may exploit and commercialise IP as either a carrot or a stick.
Parties might agree terms for a mutually advantageous licence to create new offerings or reach fresh markets.
Equally, an owner may take a defensive stance, pressing for settlement licences and recovering settlement payments from those already using its IP without permission.
Accordingly, the initial position and broader commercial context will heavily influence both the negotiations and the eventual licence terms...
IP
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