Intellectual property (IP) assignment agreement: Sample template for Ontario startups
In a technology business, it is often the value of the intellectual property (IP) assets that the investor finances or the purchaser pays for. It is critical to have “clean” ownership of any intellectual property that is critical to the operation and success of your business. If your products and services depend on certain key IP assets, an investor will undertake due diligence to understand your right to use such assets.
An intellectual property assignment agreement provides assurance to investors that the founders have legally transferred to the company the intellectual property required to run the business.
Make sure to engage qualified IP counsel at a very early stage of your business to ensure that you have the freedom to operate your business with your inventions and to make certain that your business can meet the due diligence requirements of investors.
MaRS has created a sample template of an intellectual property assignment agreement to help streamline business for investors, founders and their respective legal advisors. While MaRS makes this document available for educational purposes and to facilitate the negotiation of terms between investors and startups, the template is yours to use at your own risk. Please see the disclaimer below.
Download the Sample intellectual property assignment template
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Disclaimer
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Check out Ontario’s IP Ecosystem Map! Our partners at IPON designed this tool to help guide Ontario innovators & researchers on their IP journey. It’s an interactive PDF with info on IP service providers across Ontario.