IP Disputes

What are IP Disputes?

An Intellectual Property (IP) disputes document outlines a list of disputes related to the use of IP assets between your company and a third party.

An IP dispute refers to any infringement on the rights to use IP assets which are registered to you or your company.

The document covers:

• Copyright Disputes: Disputes related to copyright infringement of creative ‘works.’ Copyright is automatic and does not require registration.
• Patent Disputes: Disputes related to use or recreation of any device, substance, method or process. Often used on inventions and other mechanical or technological innovations.
• Trademark Disputes: Disputes related to use or recreation of trademark logos and slogans used to identify and differentiate a product, brand or company.

An IP disputes document summarizes copyright, patent and trademark disputes over IP assets.

It includes information on:

• Historical and ongoing disputes and the nature and reasons for disputes
• Start and end date of each dispute
• IP assets under dispute
• Identity of the other party and status of the dispute
• Financial or legal consequences of the disputes on your company

Why are IP Disputes important for business today?

An IP disputes document enables your company to:

• Assess the frequency and nature of IP disputes
• Evaluate the impact of an ongoing or a closed dispute on your company’s financials
• Estimate the time required to resolve a dispute
• Identify the reasons behind IP disputes to formulate processes and strategies to avoid these in the future
• Mitigate the risks and liabilities of any non- compliance of IP usage guidelines across jurisdictions

Why are IP Disputes important for an event tomorrow?

An IP disputes document is important for an event tomorrow, as it helps:

• Assess the reasons behind each dispute and record the strategy formulated by your company to reach a resolution
• Evaluate the costs incurred and time spent by your company to resolve each dispute
• Analyze your company’s capability to manage legal disputes
• Determine the impact of potential disputes on your future business performance

Pros of addressing IP Disputes

• Safeguard against legal disputes which may arise in the future by analyzing historical IP disputes across jurisdictions
• Analyze the impact of disputes on your company’s financials and operational processes
• Ability to take timely corrective action and reach a swift resolution
• Introduction and implementation of internal processes to avoid and manage IP disputes

Cons of not addressing this topic

• Increases wastage of resources due to lengthy legal processes
• Increases financial risks as business processes to mitigate IP disputes are non-existent
• Impacts your company’s reputation and creates negative publicity in media
• Creates operational inefficiency due to lack of visibility on the nature of IP disputes across jurisdictions.