Audit

An intellectual property audit is a study carried out to provide an insight into the current status of a company’s IP portfolio (trademarks, patents, designs and domain names).

 

During mergers and takeovers audits usually present a significant aspect of a total study, to help determine the value of the intellectual property portfolio and with it the value of the company. Nevertheless, regular IP audits are also significant even if mergers and takeovers are not the case.

 

The intellectual property audit consists of two parts: verifying the details of the current existing portfolio and screening that portfolio to find out whether it is still up-to-date.

 

Verification

To verify the current portfolio all details must be checked for correctness, which means they must be compared to the details stated in several official registers. In the course of time details are often no longer 100% trustworthy. So we use Nederlandsch Octrooibureau’s verification system called VIP® (Verification Intellectual Property) to efficiently verify details worldwide.

 

Investigate

Having completed the verification process, the portfolio is once again crystal-clear. It is then ready to be investigated to find out whether it is still up-to-date. Several gaps often come to light such as missing and/or incomplete registrations, missing countries and incorrect owner’s details. Besides gaps, costs are usually incurred for outdated, meanwhile unnecessary registrations, in which case we will send you a report to inform and advise you on the necessary steps to be taken.

 

A regular intellectual property audit will help you keep your IP portfolio current, which will help you maintain it in the most (cost)-efficient way adding value to your company.

 

Possibilities and advice

If you would like to have Nederlandsch Octrooibureau conduct the audit or if you are interested in receiving more information about conducting audits, please do not hesitate to contact one of our lawyers at Nederlandsch Octrooibureau. They will be pleased and honoured to discuss procedures and possibilities.