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Key definition
Intellectual property definition

What does Intellectual property mean? Intellectual property describes intangible legal rights in creative, technical and branding outputs used and enforced in commercial practice, often abbreviated to IP or IPR. In the UK and Ireland the term is descriptive rather than a single statutory definition; discrete rights arise under specific regimes, typically including copyright, patents, trade marks, registered and unregistered designs, database right, trade secrets and confidential information, and the common law tort of passing off. These rights are territorial, generally time‑limited (trade secrets/confidential information can subsist indefinitely if secrecy is maintained), and confer exclusive rights that can be licensed, assigned, charged as security and...

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Protecting intellectual property rights on insolvency: guidance for licensors, licensees and security holders on registration, renewals, licence drafting and insolvency practitioner powers under English insolvency law

Practice notes
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Content

This Practice Note explores how stakeholders’ interests in commonly held intellectual property rights (IPRs) can be safeguarded where the licensor, licensee, or a chargor over IPRs becomes insolvent. It addresses three principal strands of protection:

  • measures available to a licensor when a licensee enters an insolvency process
  • measures available to a licensee when the licensor enters an insolvency process
  • steps a secured party may take to preserve its position where the chargor’s assets comprise valuable IPRs

The Note also touches on elements of English insolvency law, including a concise overview of an insolvency practitioner’s (IP’s) powers. A full analysis of the individual insolvency procedures recognised under English law falls outside its scope. Unless indicated otherwise, the umbrella expression ‘insolvency process’ is used to describe liquidation, administration, and administrative receivership, each involving the appointment of an IP over the undertaking and assets of an insolvent corporate entity.

The Key IPRs

The following list...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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