“TRUST IN YOUR IDEA, BUT PROTECT IT FIRST” – How to prevent mistakes in the management of intangible assets from putting your project at risk.
When entrepreneurs launch a technology start-up, they invest significant effort in defining the product or use case, analysing the market, building the team, and even developing an initial functional prototype. However, the same level of thought and resources is not always dedicated to properly protecting the intangible assets that make that technology possible: source code, algorithms, designs, developed or acquired know-how, and rights arising from collaborations or public funding.
In reality, a very high percentage of start-ups, especially those that require external investment to scale, do not fail because of their technology or the market they target. Instead, they fail due to serious mistakes in the legal structuring of their intangible assets. These mistakes—such as the absence of proper rights assignments, the uncontrolled use of open-source licences, or poorly structured agreements with external developers—can block an investment round or even lead to future disputes with co-founders, freelancers, universities, or technology centres.
In this workshop, we will explore the key risks that threaten a start-up from an intellectual and industrial property perspective and examine practical strategies for structuring and protecting intangible assets from the outset. Topics will include managing rights assignments within the team, handling outsourced software development, structuring collaborations without losing control of the technology, and identifying the issues that may raise red flags during an investor’s due diligence process.
Speakers: Lawesome