• Tony Deegan
• Jason Sprague
• Annick Vincent

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Intellectual Property

Helping identify and protect intellectual property

Sparke Helmore's Intellectual Property (IP) specialists assist our clients to create, identify, manage, protect and commercialise their IP capital.

We help clients develop policies and procedures for handling confidential information and to use standard and transaction-specific agreements for dealing with their IP rights.

Sparke Helmore also works closely with Australia's leading patent attorneys and other related IP advisers to provide specific solutions for clients.

Expertise

Our IP lawyers specialise in:

• Identifying relevant IP through conducting IP audits and due diligence.
• Assisting in the protection of IP rights through: the development of appropriate IP policies and use of non-disclosure and other agreements and reviewing procedures for handling confidential information and trade secrets.
• Drafting effective assignments of IP rights to ensure they are properly transferred in contexts such as sales of business, joint ventures and corporate restructures.
• Preparing and negotiating IP licence agreements.
• Preparing and reviewing IP research, collaboration, development and commercialisation agreements.
• Enforcing IP rights through litigation.

Experience

• Advised Worksafe Australia and Centrelink regarding breaches of its IP, including copyright.
• Advised the Health Insurance Commission (in relation to its eCommerce project 'Eclipse'), Panasonic Australia and Taxation Institute of Australia - on IP matters arising from their eCommerce businesses including appropriate strategies for dealer networks, development and implementation of eCommerce-enabled websites and ongoing IP issues arising from strategies to make copyright materials available to members over the Internet.
• Conducting specialised IP due diligence in significant private equity acquisitions.
• Preparing and negotiating IP commercialisation agreements for national brand owners of fast moving consumer goods.
• Advised Fujitsu, on the acquisition of major Internet Data Centre facility and other aspects surrounding this purchase (supplier arrangements such as access to both IP and broadband networks, employee transfers, IP assignments and management of the due diligence process).
• Several important Commonwealth and state IT projects including tendering and contract advice and documentation for IT software and network procurement projects for Centrelink and other agencies, including Health Insurance Commission, Australian Customs Service, NSW Department of Commerce, NSW Police, TAFE Queensland and Queensland Education.