Often the intellectual property of a business is not protectable at law as it may not be subject to the laws of copyright or patent. The information is kept confidential but, to realise value, it often has to be disclosed.

Confidentiality agreements are an important factor in protecting the disclosure of confidential information to ensure that it is not the subject of unauthorised disclosure.

We can provide pro forma confidentiality agreements, where the information is being disclosed regularly, and tailor made confidentiality agreements where the disclosure is irregular or subject to unusual circumstances and where additional or various protections are needed.

Trade marks are commonly registered to protect brand names. We can provide advice as to the extent and nature of the trade mark protection available and undertake on your behalf to register trade marks in Australia and overseas.

We can also assist in bringing proceedings for trade mark infringement or defending allegations of trade mark infringement. 

Copyright is quite fundamental to protection of intellectual property, as it is not limited to protecting books or works of art. Much of the written output of a business may be subject to the protection of copyright laws.

We provide advice both on whether works may be protected by copyright or may infringe copyright. In addition, because there is no copyright in ideas, we can provide agreements which protect the underlying ideas particularly in areas of management consultancy and the provision of advice.

We are able to assist in locating suitable patent attorneys both in Australia and overseas and liaise with patent attorneys on your behalf.

The purpose of most of the protection of intellectual property is to enable the intellectual property to be commercialised. We have substantial experience in advising on the commercialisation of intellectual property, whether it be by way of transfer, development or licensing.

We have prepared licence agreements for business entities located in most major business centres in the world. We understand the need for the licensing agreements to actually reflect the aims of the parties to ensure the appropriate commercialisation and return on commercialisation.