Intellectual property contract Law

With Dreyfus, you can expect that your intangible assets would be better protected.

As intangible assets, intellectual property can be feely sold, granted or even abandoned by their owners for the benefit of a third party. These rights can therefore be the subject of numerous contracts, for example, License Agreements; Concession Agreements, and Website Design Agreements

Contrat de cession

The economic value of any intellectual property right is heavily dependent on its exploitation under licensing. Therefore, it is crucial to carefully draft the various contractual clauses in order to ensure an effective and efficient exploitation of your rights.

To help you develop your business, we offer a wide range of drafting services for various contracts such as license, assignment, co-ownership, coexistence and transaction agreements.

Assignment Agreements

An assignment agreement is a contract whereby the ownership is transferred to a third party. It can be assimilated to a sales agreement.

In which cases is it crucial to consider an assignment?

At any moment during the lifetime of a trademark, you can consider selling it, for example as part of a company transfer. However, an assignment agreement is not the only solution. Sometimes, it is more relevant to consider granting a license to a natural or legal person who wishes to exploit your IP rights.

Drafting contracts of transfer of rights agreements needs a sensitive touch. Our team at Dreyfus works with you to tailor such agreements to best fit your circumstances and to ensure legal security. Dreyfus supports you in drafting contracts to assign or transfer your intellectual property rights, including copyrights, trademarks, domain names, patents, and designs.

License agreements

A license agreement is an agreement under which the owner of an intellectual property title (commonly referred to as licensor) grants his or her authorization to a third party (commonly referred to as licensee), to use said title for a certain period of time within a certain territory. It is a kind of IP leasing mechanism whereby the title in question still belongs to the owner, who “lends” his right in exchange for the payment of a fee.

In which cases is it interesting to consider a license agreement?

Patentssoftware and trademarks can all be licensed. It may be useful to bear this in mind when creating a company, especially when you are the founder. In this way, you are able to keep control over your assets while allowing the company to use these rights. In many cases, it may be more interesting to consider this type of agreement. In this regard, the Dreyfus law firm helps you implement adequate strategies.

The purpose of a license agreement is to authorize the use of an intellectual property right to a third-party in exchange for a fee. An IP license can be a highly strategic tool and requires careful decision making to ensure the highest level of protection and valuation of your rights.

Dreyfus helps you in drafting license agreements for a full range of IP assets, including copyright, trademark, domain name, patent and design.

Coexistence Agreements 

When filing your trademark, you could face opposition from the owner of an earlier trademark. It is also possible that a trademark application infringes your trademark right.

If the two conflicting trademarks are identical or similar but do not concern the same fields of activity, negotiating a coexistence agreement may be appropriate in order to avoid dispute. Setting up a trademark coexistence agreement will avoid potential conflicts.

In a coexistence agreement, the parties recognize each other’s rights and jointly determine the conditions for the coexistence of their trademarks in a given market. In particular, they must define the categories of goods and/or services for which each trademark may be used and the territory of use for each of them.

We work with our clients in order to cover all key considerations specific to their circumstances and ensure optimal management and valuation of their intellectual property rights.

Co-ownership Agreements

It is possible that a trademark or a patent application be filed on behalf of multiple people through a single application. From a legal point of view, the trademark or patent will be considered as the common property of the applicants.

A co-ownership agreement makes it possible to protect oneself from the risks of conflicts between co-owners, through preventively and contractually defining their legal relationship.

Co-ownership of a patent application or registration is subject to a special regime that is different to the common law of undivided ownership.

However, co-ownership of trademarks or designs is subject to the same rules governing undivided ownership.

The Dreyfus team can assist you in the defense of your legal interests and rights, as well as during the preparation of an agreement document in line with your objectives.