Venable partners Jim Nelson and Bill Russell were featured on the May 17, 2011 post for Outsourcing Buzz Blog. They were interviewed on the subject of outsourcing product development and research and development functions.
When asked if companies were at risk in having inadequate protection of their intellectual property by using a cookie-cutter approach to outsourcing, Nelson said, "Companies must be much more sensitive to their intellectual property (IP) assets in those situations, in particular where the assets are being held and what is being done with them. This is even more critical as they move up the value chain to more sophisticated services."
Discussing IP ownership and whether it "should be part of the early-on discussions with potential providers," Russell said, "Parties tend to be very focused up front on things like service levels, service delivery locations, scope of work, and pricing… I would advise clients to move IP up to the top of the list with those other terms, such as pricing and service levels, as part of their vendor selection process so that they have a good handle on those issues early on and where the 'hot button' issues might be."
When asked if companies were at risk in having inadequate protection of their intellectual property by using a cookie-cutter approach to outsourcing, Nelson said, "Companies must be much more sensitive to their intellectual property (IP) assets in those situations, in particular where the assets are being held and what is being done with them. This is even more critical as they move up the value chain to more sophisticated services."
Discussing IP ownership and whether it "should be part of the early-on discussions with potential providers," Russell said, "Parties tend to be very focused up front on things like service levels, service delivery locations, scope of work, and pricing… I would advise clients to move IP up to the top of the list with those other terms, such as pricing and service levels, as part of their vendor selection process so that they have a good handle on those issues early on and where the 'hot button' issues might be."