19 June 2023
Lifecycle of a tech startup series: expansion overseas
In episode 14 you successfully obtained VC investment from KNow Growth, allowing you to not only focus on increasing sales in the UK, but also expand by marketing your product overseas, and your initial target market is France.
However, as neither you nor Sarah have any experience of trading in France, you consider appointing an agent or distributor to help break into the market. Doing so would save the start-up costs of establishing your own sales operation and enable you to take advantage of that person’s established trade connections and local knowledge.
2 May 2023
“What’s in a name?”
“What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” Romeo & Juliet – William Shakespeare
Company names and brand names, which may or may not be the same, along with the goodwill attributable to that name, is often a valuable company asset. However, even well-established brands are not immune to economic pressures, and you only have to take a walk down your local high street to witness the disappearance of many household names.
4 April 2023
IT consultancies: unravelling the intellectual property provisions in your customer contracts
IT consultancy firms are commonly called upon to advise customers on the best technology solutions to meet their operational needs. Treatment of the underlying intellectual property rights (“IP”) in each solution is a key concern for IT consultancies. Customers require clarity as to whether they will be assigned the IP in a solution, so that they own the same going forward, or whether they will be granted a limited licence to use the IP (on the basis that ownership will remain with the IT consultancy, or third-party, that originally developed the solution). The contracts IT consultancies sign with their customers therefore need to be tailored to reflect the specific solution(s) found for the customer and the resulting IP ownership position and, in this blog, we’ll flag some of the key considerations that IT consultancies need to be aware of when structuring the IP provisions in their customer contracts.
15 March 2023
SVB’s rescue is an unexpected credibility boost for the UK Science and Technology Framework
The rescue of SVB showed that the UK government not only acted decisively in relation to a critical sector for the UK economy, but in the process showed that its newest policy Framework can involve meaningful action as well as words
13 March 2023
Are the tax rules on homeworking fit for purpose?
The Covid-19 pandemic ushered in a new era for how many of us work. Full or partial remote working is now the norm for many and given late last year the government announced plans to allow millions of employees the right to request flexible working from day one of their employment, it looks like homeworking is here to stay.