Business Legal Services
Intellectual Property in Commercial Contracts
Benefit from creating, sharing, or using intellectual property in your business and from clear and balanced contractual terms.
Every business uses intellectual property, from the basic know-how that you need to get the job done, to rights in complex technology. Registering a trade mark or applying for a patent is only the tip of the iceberg, and you are likely to have other intellectual property issues to deal with, even if you do not need a registered trade mark or patent.
We help you to identify, protect and get the best out of your intellectual property, whether it is your own or someone else’s.
Fostering innovation
Commercialising intellectual property
We understand intellectual property from your perspective and our approach will depend upon what you are doing. Usually, you will be doing one or more of the following:
Lending
Anything from a traditional trade mark licence through to Software as a Service (SaaS) involves you permitting another person (or persons) to use your intellectual property on specified conditions. Those conditions must protect your intellectual property so that you can continue to fulfil your plans in relation to it – but also give the other party (your licensee) sufficient scope to achieve its objectives.
Borrowing
Similar principles apply where you are borrowing intellectual property, but instead of opening with your preferred position, you will often be working with the owner’s standard offering and identifying the ways in which it must change to ensure that the allocation of rights and responsibilities fit your purposes.
Creating
Many businesses are paid by their customers to create intellectual property. Whether you are a tooling manufacturer, a marketing company or a software house (and many businesses in between), your customer may perceive that it is entitled to ownership of the resulting intellectual property or at least to some form of exclusivity in relation to it.
Sharing
Relationships in this context tend to be the most complex. There are many scenarios in which two or more businesses share intellectual property to achieve the same goal and they are described in many different ways. The parties to joint venture, partnership, co-operation and collaboration agreements all need to identify the intellectual property that is being shared, the intellectual property that is to be generated and their respective rights in relation to them. And that is only part of the story as their ways of working together (including protecting the intellectual property) and the consequences of the relationship breaking down must all be discussed and settled.
We can also help if you need additional support beyond managing intellectual property in your commercial contracts. Our intellectual property team can help you develop an intellectual property strategy that aligns with your business goals; registering IP such as trade marks, responding to challenges, portfolio management, and resolving disputes.
How we can help
Commercial legal advice your way
We happily tailor our approach to meet your needs. In the same way that no two business are the same, neither is what they need from their lawyers. Whatever we are asked to do, we can adapt and deliver it in a way that works best for you.
We apply our knowledge and experience, whatever the context, to help you with:
Understanding
making intellectual property comprehensible to you.
Exploiting
getting the best out of your intellectual property
Facilitating
ensuring that the intellectual property to which you have access works for you and your business partners
Clarifying
ensuring that there are no misconceptions around your intellectual property, whether from your perspective or that of someone else with a stake in it
Testimonials
What our clients say
We make it possible for businesses to focus on doing rather than be bogged down in the legals. Our clients have peace of mind knowing that we’re not just here to tick a box or provide a ‘one size fits all solution’.
I'll sum it up in three words: Expertise, versatility and experience
Sarah Enuwhure
Account Manager,
Curva Digital Ltd
Often we challenge the Harper James team with tough questions around commercial relationships and evolving law in deep technology, generative AI, and the like. We always receive thoughtful perspective and partnership in navigating our growth and protecting our business.
Veronica Orvalho
Founder and CEO,
Didimo
I spoke to an expert who brought a new perspective on an old problem and added value. For the price and for a general solicitor's grade advice, it is excellent.
Tom Robins
CEO,
Switchee
The lawyers and their support team at Harper James are so accessible, down to earth and easy to deal with. They provide practical advice in a user-friendly format and we have the comfort of knowing there isn't a stopwatch ticking in the background racking up a huge bill.
Joanne Crichton
Finance Manager,
Brick Hunter
This is a key stage of ANB Sensors’ growth as an SME, because it saw us transferring from a research and development company to a commercial entity. It’s a major milestone for us. Having Harper James by our side is reassuring, as they’ve helped us ensure all our documentation and sales terms are both fair and reasonable and led us through the sales process.
Dr Nathan Lawrence
CEO and Co-Founder,
ANB Sensors
Our solicitor at Harper James is excellent, with a great grasp of the law. But more importantly, he has a very astute business acumen where he is able to advise on the practical and strategic angle and not simply the legal side.
Joe Luong
CEO,
Crypta Labs
I'll sum it up in three words: Expertise, versatility and experience
Sarah Enuwhure
Account Manager,
Curva Digital Ltd
Often we challenge the Harper James team with tough questions around commercial relationships and evolving law in deep technology, generative AI, and the like. We always receive thoughtful perspective and partnership in navigating our growth and protecting our business.
Veronica Orvalho
Founder and CEO,
Didimo
I spoke to an expert who brought a new perspective on an old problem and added value. For the price and for a general solicitor's grade advice, it is excellent.
Tom Robins
CEO,
Switchee
The lawyers and their support team at Harper James are so accessible, down to earth and easy to deal with. They provide practical advice in a user-friendly format and we have the comfort of knowing there isn't a stopwatch ticking in the background racking up a huge bill.
Joanne Crichton
Finance Manager,
Brick Hunter
This is a key stage of ANB Sensors’ growth as an SME, because it saw us transferring from a research and development company to a commercial entity. It’s a major milestone for us. Having Harper James by our side is reassuring, as they’ve helped us ensure all our documentation and sales terms are both fair and reasonable and led us through the sales process.
Dr Nathan Lawrence
CEO and Co-Founder,
ANB Sensors
Our solicitor at Harper James is excellent, with a great grasp of the law. But more importantly, he has a very astute business acumen where he is able to advise on the practical and strategic angle and not simply the legal side.
Joe Luong
CEO,
Crypta Labs
Experts in commercial contracts
Helping your business to run and make money
Our commercial solicitors can advise on all the contracts and agreements needed to manage your business relationships. There’s too many to list but to give you a feel for our approach and breadth of experience we have highlighted a few in detail across the following pages:
Best-in-class legal advice
Why choose our commercial solicitors?
Introducing our team of highly skilled solicitors, each with a deep understanding of intellectual property within commercial contracts. Every one brings a wealth of experience gained through supporting innovative clients, particularly in the technology and science industries.
What sets us apart is not just our legal expertise, but our unique perspectives, honed through working in some of the most highly-regarded law firms in the UK as well as in-house legal counsel. This combination of industry knowledge and practical commercial insights equips us to deliver tailored, accessible, and solution-oriented legal services, ensuring your business’ IP interests are protected and leveraged effectively.
Pricing and service plans
Legal support designed
to fit your business needs
Our three transparent service plans are designed to give you the widest possible access to high-quality legal advice, whatever the size and nature of your business:
Engage
Flexible access to senior solicitors at highly competitive rates
An alternative to our subscription plans, offering access to full service legal expertise on a project-by-project basis.
Enable
Purpose built legal support for start-ups and smaller businesses
Monthly subscription plan for £215 per month, with £145 monthly credit and access to all legal services at 50% discount on our Standard Rates.
Extend
Comprehensive legal partnership for established businesses
Fully account managed and scalable annual subscription plan with support from a curated team of partners and senior solicitors, with up to 34% discount on our Standard Rates.
Examples of our work
News and insights
