It may be necessary because the IPRs are part of a business to be sold, or if an author , inventor etc. was commissioned to create a work or an invention. The effect of an assignment is that the original owner is excluded from using the IPRs unless the new owner gives him a licence. There are formalities for assignment of each form of IPR.

Patents or Patent Applications

An assignment must be in writing, signed by all parties to the transaction and registered at the Patent Office within six months of the assignment. Failing registration, the assignee's rights against infringers are restricted. The assignor cannot subsequently challenge the validity of the patent.

Copyright or Design Rights

An assignment must be in writing but need only be signed by the assignor. Future copyrights may also be assigned in this way. (See also Registered Designs below).

Registered Trade Marks or Service Marks

Such a mark can be assigned independently of the goods or services to which it relates. The assignment must be registered with the Trade Marks Registry. If not, the new owner is restricted in his ability to sue infringers.

Unregistered Trade Marks

An unregistered trademark can only be assigned with the business, product or service with which it is associated.

Registered Designs

The assignment must be in writing and registered with the Designs Registry. If such registration does not occur, the assignee will have difficulties in suing infringers. There are also rules which ensure that registered designs and associated design rights are kept in the same hands.

Warranties as to IPRs

As the assignor, you may well be asked by the assignee to give warranties as to your freedom to assign the rights, their validity and freedom from undisclosed third party rights restricting their use.

Tax and Accounting Issues

Whether an IPR is assigned or licensed may have important tax and accounting consequences. Money received in return for an IPR disposed of outright (assigned) or where money is otherwise received by way of a lump sum is more likely to be treated by the Inland Revenue as capital. Conversely payments related to levels of sales of goods or services incorporating the IPR (e.g. royalties ) are more likely to be treated as income.

Acquiring Intellectual Property Rights

In the development of your business, you will need to ensure that your intellectual property rights (IPRs) can be commercialised free from conflicting claims from employees, those commissioned by you to do research and development, artwork, etc., and others. In addition, you may need to consider licensing or taking assignments of IPRs developed by other businesses.

Employees

You will automatically own employee inventions where made in the course of normal or specifically assigned duties or where the employee has a special obligation to further your business's interests (e.g. senior employees).
All other employee inventions belong to the employee. Any attempt to get an employee to sign away his rights to future inventions is unenforceable, but he can transfer such an invention to you after it has been made.
Where an invention made by an employee is eventually patented and is of outstanding benefit to you, the employee may well be entitled to compensation.
Other IPRs created in the course of employment (e.g. copyrights and designs) will belong to you, as the employer, subject to specific agreement to the contrary.

Contractors/Commissions

With IPRs created by a consultant or under a commission, the creator will generally be considered to be the owner in law unless there is written agreement to the contrary signed by the assignor. This assignment is commonly agreed in return for you making the necessary payment for the services out of which the IPRs arise.

Moral Rights

With copyright materials, authors generally have certain moral rights which entitle them to object to certain uses of the work and to inappropriate attribution. Moral rights must be taken into account when dealing in copyright works.

IPR Licences and Assignments for Trading Partners

Whenever you acquire IPRs, it will be necessary as the acquiring party to carry out due diligence to confirm the validity and usability of the IPRs, and to seek contractual warranties and indemnities from the other party as to the enforceability of those IPRs and their freedom from conflicting or undisclosed third party rights.

Photocopying, the Playing of Music and Copyright

On a routine basis, you may well be involved in photocopying copyright works (i.e. most books, magazines etc.) or playing sound recordings in public. Doing so without the permission of the copyright owner can be copyright infringement.
Fortunately, however, collective licensing schemes exist which enable licences to be obtained with little difficulty and at reasonable cost.
It should be noted that collective licensing organisations are becoming increasingly willing and able to take legal action against those who infringe their members' copyrights