Intellectual Property Insurance

In recent years, the global importance of IP rights and their related expenditures – lawsuits revolving around infringement of IP – have risen significantly. As a result, the benefits of intellectual property insurance are garnering more attention. 

For many businesses, much of their value lies in what makes them unique. IP can be the seed that can blossom into a successful and formidable business and as such, companies will do everything they can to protect their IP from their competitors. It’s vital to protect the patents, trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property that makes your business competitive and successful, and intellectual property insurance is part of that.

What is IP insurance?

Intellectual property insurance helps your business defend itself against claims of IP infringement or theft of IP and/or contractual indemnities. It can also assist you pursue parties who are infringing on your patent, copyright or trademark.

Given the increasing legal costs and awards, IP litigation could have a substantial, material impact on a business, making risk transfer highly attractive.

What intellectual property insurance is available?

Infringement defence: – this is the most popular type of IP insurance. It covers you for infringement claims brought against you.
Abatement enforcement coverage: this coverage gives you as an IP owner the financial resources to enforce your IP rights and pursue infringement claims.

Features of our IP insurance

Patent and IP infringement liability

Our policy covers the defence of patent and all other IP infringement claims being brought against you, including legal costs, damages, settlements and counterclaims.

Contractual indemnities cover

This vital cover enables business by allowing smaller companies to agree and meet the contractual indemnities required by their customers.

Pursuit of infringers

Companies spend a great deal of time, energy and money developing their intellectual property. We believe that this significant investment should be protected and therefore offer cover for the costs associated with enforcing rights if someone infringes a valid right and it has a commercial impact.

Loss of profit

Cover for loss of profits can be critical for small and medium-sized businesses with only a single or a small handful of product lines. In the event that you lose an infringement case and it results in an injunction against you, this policy can cover for your resulting loss of profits for up to 12 months.

Loss of IP right cover

Investment in intellectual property costs a great deal. If a right is invalidated as a consequence of infringement action, this policy can repay that investment allowing your company to move onto the next project.

Intellectual property insurance FAQs

Why do I need IP insurance?

According to the International Risk Management Institute (IRMI): “The cost of IP litigation can be astronomical and continues to increase each year. In certain cases, the high stakes of IP litigation can pose a very real threat to the company itself.”

What counts as IP?

Intellectual property is a work or an invention triggered by an individual’s creativity. It might be a manuscript, an invention, a formula or algorithm, a product design, a symbol, name or image used in commerce, or a piece of literary or artistic work. The originators, who have the rights to the IP, can apply for legal protection in the form of patent, copyright and trademarks. This enables people to earn recognition or financial benefit from their creation.

How do I manage the financial impact of intellectual property risk?

Preparation is key when managing IP litigation risk. It’s important for companies to understand their IP at origin and register that (if possible) in order to claim ownership of it. It’s much easier to protect IP that’s registered with a patent, copyright, or a trademark than it is for an unregistered creation.

In addition to formal registration, companies can make use of written agreements to further protect their IP assets. These written agreements can include employment contracts, non-disclosure agreements, non-competitive agreements, and licensing agreements. Ensuring you maintain a documented trail and keeping track of people involved in that chain is crucial.