Whose intellectual property is it anyway?

A lot of software is created through joint effort – requirements, prototype, enhancements, change requests; whether through a team or by a single individual. So whose IP is it anyway? And what happens when relationships go wrong and business partners separate?

We’ve seen many challenges in this space but also some useful conventions, mediation drivers and practical solutions that ex-business partners might want to consider before going to law. The key to understanding IP in software terms, as with many things in life, is to “follow the money”: who commissioned it, who built it, who paid for it and who makes money from it now.

Don’t stand by and let your IP potentially walk away from you in a dispute or in confusion about the technical aspects of the software. We can help untangle the mess and we work with IP lawyers too who can assist with your enforcement rights as well.