Assignment Of Intellectual Property Rights – Essential Considerations

1. Introduction

Adequate knowledge of the subject of intellectual property, the objectives underlying its protection and available mechanisms for adequate balancing of private rights of owners and the public interests of users have become critical.¹ This is because globally, intellectual property is recognised as a vital asset in business, which is currently estimated to be even more valuable than physical assets.² Its protection or lack thereof, as the case may be, also has a fundamental impact on vital aspects of life such as education, health, entertainment, culture, employment, food security and general societal growth and development.³ Just as with buying and selling physical property, transferring the ownership of intellectual property is an important part of doing business⁴.