Meaning of an assignment of intellectual property rights

WILKINSON v LONDON STRATEGIC HEALTH AUTHORITY [2012]

Contracts for the development or customisation of software, for the production of training materials or the creation of a consultancy report often have to attempt to resolve the typical struggle regarding the ownership of the resulting intellectual property rights. The customer wants sufficient ‘ownership’ of the IPRs (usually by way of an outright assignment or an exclusive licence) and the supplier or consultant wants to limit the rights granted (usually by way of a non-exclusive licence) to ensure that it can freely exploit what it develops on behalf of its clients generally. Problems arise because, as the saying goes, very little, if anything, is completely original.

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