Joint Ventures

Joint ventures (JV) come in all shapes and sizes. Some are called “joint development projects,” others are called “joint industry projects” and some are much simpler. Regardless of what they are called, a key to all of them is that they are not a merger – that is, ownership of the assets from each partner usually stays with the original owner. The intellectual property the JV needs, at least at first, is licensed from at least one of the partners. Care needs to be taken in drafting the joint venture agreement and in any separate licenses to handle various rights. For example, will there be an exclusive license or non-exclusive license? What about improvements to a licensed technology that one of the partners invents? Should some technology be licensed one way and some another? Who will own intellectual property that is developed by the joint venture? What happens to the technology at the end of the venture? Will the joint venture have a right to grant sublicenses? If not, how will the JV deal with contractors?

Arnold & Knobloch is a firm of experienced patent licensing attorneys that can deal with these questions and more. Contact us now to learn more about joint ventures and what we can do for your organization.