IP Audit for Managing IP Issues in Outsourcing Transactions

Whenever a technology or service being outsourced, the IP rights of all parties to the transaction including third parties, are likely be involved In one form or another. Out of that involvement, will arise the need, during contract negotiations for both the customer and the outsourcer, to focus on and control the intellectual property itself, and various other related issues. Outsourcing allows an entity to transfer portions of its internal business functions, such as IT infrastructure, personnel, business processes and applications, to an other resource outside of the organisation. Companies outsource such functions to save money, improve quality or free up company resources for other business purposes. Offshore outsourcing may involve the transfer of intellectual property to foreign countries and the elimination or transfer of current employees to overseas locations, where intellectual property may not be protectable. IP transferred to the outsourcer may include software, data, business and technology processes, trade secrets and other confidential information, inventions, patents, trademarks, copyrights and other works of authorship, and k now-how. Some of this intellectual property may belong to third parties and be licensed to the customer.