Veale Wasbrough Vizards have the experience and specialist knowledge to advise Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on a broad range of commercial arrangements and to help protect and exploit their intellectual property in the UK and internationally.
Our work encompasses:
- Advice on trade marks, copyright, designs, patents, database rights and the protection of confidential information.
- Advising on a wide range of research grants and contracts, including drafting collaborative contracts between HEIs and other institutions inside and outside the UK, collaborative and funded research involving commercial partners and the terms on which grant funding is made available.
- Advising on the charity and tax law implications of research by HEIs and, in particular, the Charity Commission's guidance on charitable and non-charitable research (including commercial sponsorship, contract research and joint ventures) and the agreed guidelines on the corporation tax treatment of UK Universities as they apply to research activities.
- Advising on charity law and tax implications of primary and non-primary purpose trading, including establishment, financing, governance and operation of trading subsidiaries by HEIs.
- Advising on restructuring HEI activities, including establishing subsidiary companies and transfers of research and other activities and mergers between HEIs and other charities and institutions.
- Advising HEIs on the exploitation of research using spin-out companies, including technology transfer, as well as our role as lawyers in residence with SetSquared. We advise on establishing companies, funding arrangements (particularly involving external investment), employee incentives, the ownership of intellectual property and all associated charity law and commercial implications.
- Advising on the protection, licensing and enforcement of intellectual property, and registering trade marks in the UK, in the EU and internationally.
- Advising on Freedom of Information (FOI) Act issues, including how the Information Commissioner deals with complaints and manages non-compliance. We also advise on the relationship between FOI and the Data Protection Act.
- Preparing and negotiating a joint research agreements involving HEIs and industrial partners.
We also provide lectures and training on business law to students interested in innovation, entrepreneurship and enterprise at our key HEI clients; training on the legal implications of collaborative research and other projects; and training on the duties of non-executive directors for companies associated with our key HEI clients.
To discuss any of your commercial requirements, please contact Doug Locke.
