Karen Elburg, head of our IP Practice, spoke about practical aspects of trade secrets in transactions at the third AIPPI-Israel international conference on the “Economy of Innovation” which took place on April 30^th-May 1st.  The overarching theme of the conference, as considered  by nearly 100 speakers, equally divided between Israel and abroad,  was how to better understand the secret sauce that enables Israel to be the quintessential “start-up nation”. AIPPI (Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle) is the world’s leading international organization dedicated to the development and improvement of legal regimes for the protection of intellectual property (IP).

In an era in which intellectual property assets are often the most important assets that a company possesses, and IP rights certainly increase its value, it is extremely important to know what intellectual property assets the company holds and whether it is taking the necessary steps to protect them or to leverage them. Herzog Fox & Neeman is here to assist you with your internal IP audit before a conflict over IP rights emerges, before an M&A deal or foreseen public offering or even simply for the chance of discovering hidden IP “treasures”.

Some of the questions an IP audit can answer are whether non-registered rights are adequately protected; whether appropriate decision-making procedures are in place regarding rights to be registered and registered rights to be maintained; whether the company’s use of third party rights is properly entrenched in agreements; whether rights developed for the company are transferred to its ownership in contracts; as well as numerous others. In the wake of Brexit, where the company has business in the UK, an IP audit should also pay special attention to any implications of Brexit on the protection of the company’s IP rights in the UK and in the EU.

An IP audit conducted by our qualified specialists, Karen Elburg, Adar Bengom and Jenia Melkhior with over 25, 10 and 8 years of experience in the field, respectively, can ultimately raise a company’s value, or – conversely – help to prevent exorbitant value assessments.

If you want to make sure that your company is properly protecting its trade secrets and other IP rights, contact us.