Practice area 06
IP Strategy and Advisory
Establishing what a business actually owns, documenting it properly, and deciding how it should be commercialised.
Catalogues and brands are regularly bought, financed and licensed on the basis of ownership nobody has verified. When the verification happens, it is usually during a transaction, under time pressure.
We review ownership and chain of title, run IP due diligence, advise on rights management and commercialisation, and handle the related corporate and commercial work.
Clients usually come to us when
- A catalogue or business is being sold, bought or financed.
- Ownership has never been documented and the position needs establishing.
- Rights are held across several entities and contributors with no central record.
- You are deciding how to licence or commercialise a catalogue.
- An investor or counterparty has begun due diligence and gaps are surfacing.
What we can help with
- Ownership and chain-of-title reviews
- IP due diligence
- Rights management
- Commercialisation strategy
- Digital content and platform matters
- Related corporate and commercial advisory work
How we approach it
We map what exists against what is documented, identify the gaps that would matter to a buyer or a court, and set out what can be repaired now. The result is a clear ownership position and a plan for the decisions that follow.
What we cannot promise. Due diligence describes the position as the available documents show it. Where records are missing or contributors cannot be traced, we identify the resulting risk rather than assume it away.
Common questions
What does a chain-of-title review involve?
Tracing ownership of each work from creation to the present through the documents that moved it, and identifying every point where the chain is incomplete or contradicted.
We have almost no paperwork. Is a review still useful?
Often it is the most useful time for one, because gaps can sometimes still be repaired while the people involved are contactable.
Do you work with our accountants or corporate advisers?
Yes. Transactions usually require it, and coordination tends to produce a better result than parallel workstreams.
Related practice areas
Copyright Protection and Content Removal
Establishing what you own, acting against unauthorised use, and responding when a claim against your work is wrong.
Royalties and Withheld Funds
Reading what the statements actually say, testing it against the contract, and pursuing payments that are being withheld.
Music, Licensing and Commercial Agreements
Drafting and negotiating the agreements that decide who owns the work, who may use it, where, for how long, and on what terms.