Intellectual property and software licence agreement legal advice

Although the term intellectual property (IP) did not come into English usage until mid-Victorian times, the first protection for trade and inventions was granted by Queen Elizabeth I in a world unrecognised by today's fast-moving business environment where protection such as software licence agreements are a specialised field of law services.

A software licence agreement has the purpose of guarding against an infringement of the rights of the person or company which has developed certain computer applications and wishes to profit from the skill used to write the software.

Original software is likely to be covered by copyright laws in terms of its usage but an individual or business which devises special applications or unique aspects of its product may wish to deter piracy or other forms of intellectual property theft by having a contract prepared by a solicitor before it is sold.

In a similar way to a marketing agreement, a software licence agreement can allow a third party to manufacture or sell a product but this can only be with the express permission of the originator, who will also expect financial reward for such agreement.

IT contract law and its affects on computer industry businesses is developing rapidly and advice from a solicitor who has studied the implications for clients will help to protect a firm's interests from exploitation.

As part of a traditional full service legal practice with the highest professional standards, combined with a forward-looking approach where you will be treated as an individual, you can be sure the commercial team at George Ide can be trusted for accurate and helpful advice in whatever field of information technology you work.

For a confidential discussion on our IT and IP law services and drafting of software licence agreements, you can reach a member of our team by using the contact details featured in the staff profiles on the right hand side of this page.