Preliminary Presentation - Intellectual Property

Preliminary Presentation- Intellectual Property
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Preliminary Presentation- Intellectual Property
During an acquisition, there are specific issues that the acquiring company, in this case, Bricker Beverages (BB), should take into consideration. One of them relates to intellectual property (IP). IP covers any intangible assets created by the human mind and are classified as copyrights, patents, trade secrets, and trademarks (Miller &Segall, 2017). Under IP, there are several issues that are crucial to the successful integration of two companies. The first issue relates to documentation. Jolly Juices has to provide documents on their IP application, any agreements on the same with contractors or third parties, and on any legal issues arising from their IP (Howson, 2017). Failure to acquire those documents can leave BB vulnerable to litigations in future. The second issue is concerned with ownership of IP such as patents and trade secrets. Jolly should provide licenses and proof of ownership. These would inform BB whether Jolly’s IP is applicable and effective to avoid purchasing invalid IPs (Howson, 2017). In addition, BB should also ensure that there are separate documents for the U.S. and the European Union business. This is because, for each jurisdiction, the documents have different contents, which should be signed by the responsible entities (Bryer&Lebson, n.d.). Failure to obtain separate document might blindside BB, given that this acquisition presents the company with its first ever operation in the European Union.
Intellectual property is a sensitive issue that can lead to company litigations and financial loss. Any mistakes made by Jolly Juices in the past in relation to Jolly Juices would affect the financial position of BB. However, specific departments would be affected by IP during the acquisition and integration. The first one is the accounting department because while IP is int...