

Commercial Intellectual Property
Allen & Overy’s commercial intellectual property team advises clients on the full range of commercial contracts relating to the exploitation of IP rights.
With the ever-growing focus on innovation, protecting and leveraging IP assets is crucial. A&O’s commercial IP lawyers work closely with our M&A and antitrust colleagues to provide coordinated advice on the full range of IP-rich transactions.
We advise on complex cross-border collaborations, joint ventures and strategic licensing deals involving parties all over the world.
Our experience spans the most complex transactions and includes:
- Licensing, joint ventures and collaborations
- Sales and other forms of disposal of IP rights, including warranty protection
- IP due diligence and verification, including related agreements
- Antitrust risks in licensing, joint venture and non-compete arrangements, including related to the settlement of patent disputes
- Procedures and negotiations of arrangements for parties seeking to exit, or in the event of insolvency or bankruptcy of one party
- Distribution, agency, contract manufacture, supply, sponsorship and other commercial agreements
- IP-backed asset financing and taking security interests over IP assets, including royalty monetisation agreements
Explore our services
Our experience
Marks & Spencer
on the IP aspects of its GBP750m food delivery joint venture with Ocado, the UK’s leading pure play digital grocer.
Exscientia Limited
on a research collaboration and licence agreement with Roche pursuant to which Exscientia will use its AI drug discovery platform to design pre-clinical drug candidates for Roche.
Colfax Corporation
on the complex division and transfer of an existing trade mark portfolio, including WIPO and other foreign trade marks, in connection with its USD57m acquisition of ČKD Kompresory, based in Prague, Czech Republic, from ČKD Group.
Celyad
News and insights

News: 31 January 2023
Allen & Overy advised international bank Standard Chartered on entering into a joint venture with big German banks to fund the blockchain platform SWIAT.

Publications: 01 February 2022
Soon there will be legal protection for whistleblowers. What are the employer’s obligations?
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has just tabled a bill aimed at transposing the European Directive on whistleblowers. Even if the bill has to go through the entire legislative process, and will most…

Publications: 09 June 2021
A&O hosts webinar on drug formulations in life sciences transactions
On Tuesday 25 May 2021, Allen & Overy IP associate Tine Carmeliet chaired a presentation with IP partner Keren Livneh and IP associate Megan McMellon and M&A associate Zara Sproul on “Drug…

Publications: 12 May 2021
The shape of things to come: the value of registered designs in protecting medtech products
As the digital revolution continues to sweep across healthcare, health tech manufacturers are increasingly aware of the need to protect the visual appearance of their products.
Recognition of our work
[Allen & Overy's] dedicated experts are in their element advising on the IP aspects of major cross-border transactions.
WTR 1000 2020
Highly recommended, Transactions.
IAM Patent 1000 2020
As one of the best business law firms in the world, Allen & Overy demonstrates a great flair for IP-driven transactions.
WTR 1000 2018
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