Intellectual property and software licensing
Assignments · Open-source review · Licence structuring
In short
We make sure your company owns the code, designs and content it relies on, and that the software, data and models it licenses allow the way you use them.
Where problems usually start
Early code is written by founders, friends, agencies and interns, often without written assignments. Dependencies arrive with licences no one has read, including copyleft terms that can reach the whole distributed work, and pre-trained models come with use restrictions in the model card. These surface when an investor or acquirer asks for a dependency list and a chain of title, and the deal timetable then sets the pace.
How we approach it
We establish ownership of code, designs and models across employees, contractors and acquisitions. We review open-source licences before an investor or acquirer asks, check inbound licences for data, libraries and pre-trained models, and structure outbound licensing for software, APIs and white-label arrangements. Where patents do not fit, we protect confidential information through contracts. A missing assignment is simplest to fix while the person who wrote the work is still with the company.
What our work involves
- Assignments and confidentiality terms for every employee, contractor and agency, including retrospective assignments where they are missing.
- An open-source and dependency review against how the software is distributed, with licences that need replacing flagged.
- Inbound data and model licences checked for restrictions on use, outputs and training.
- Outbound licences for software, APIs and white-label deals with clear scope, territory and term.
- A chain-of-title pack prepared before diligence starts.
For startups and in-house teams
Startups need clean assignments from everyone who wrote their code before the first funding round. Established companies need the software, data and models they use reviewed, and outbound licences that are clear on scope.