IP audits are commonly commissioned in situations where legal clarity and portfolio readiness are critical, including:

• prior to mergers, acquisitions, investments, or divestments;
• during internal restructuring, spin-offs, or group reorganisations;
• before licensing, technology transfer, or commercialisation initiatives;
• in preparation for fundraising, due diligence, or strategic partnerships;
• where legacy portfolios have developed without centralised governance; or
• as part of periodic risk management and compliance review.

In each case, the objective is not merely to catalogue assets/inventory, but to obtain actionable clarity.

The scope of an IP audit is tailored to the organisation’s industry, jurisdictional footprint, and commercial objectives. Depending on engagement objectives, an IP audit may cover one or more of the following asset categories:

• patents and patent applications, including pending, granted, abandoned, and family members;
• trademarks and brand assets, including scope of protection, consistency of use and renewal position;
• copyrighted works, software, databases, and proprietary content;
• registered designs and layout-design (topography) rights, where applicable;
• trade secrets and confidential information, including internal protection measures; and
• associated agreements, such as assignments, licences, R&D collaborations, and employment-related IP clauses.

The audit scope is tailored to the client’s industry, jurisdictional footprint, and commercial priorities, and focuses on rights that materially affect business operations or future transactions, instead of creating generic checklists.

An IP audit is both, legal and operational in nature. The review typically focuses on:

• verification of ownership and chain of title, including assignments, recordals, and historical gaps;
• alignment between registered rights and actual products, services, or technologies in use;
• identification of gaps, redundancies, dormant assets, or misfiled rights;
• assessment of enforceability risks arising from non-use, including lapses, oppositions, or inconsistent filings;
• review of contractual restrictions affecting exploitation, transfer, or sublicensing; and
• evaluation of internal IP governance practices, including documentation and control mechanisms.

Where relevant, jurisdiction-specific compliance requirements and interactions with regulatory or industry standards are also considered.

IP audits are conducted through a structured, phased process:

Asset Identification and Mapping: Compilation and categorisation of IP assets across jurisdictions, business units, and product lines.

Ownership and Documentation Review: Examination of filings, assignments, licences, and internal agreements to verify control, continuity, and recordal status.

Use and Alignment Analysis: Assessment of how IP is deployed across products, branding, software, technology platforms, and commercial operations, and whether registrations accurately reflect use.

Risk and Gap Assessment: Identification of legal, procedural, and commercial vulnerabilities, including exposure arising from misalignment, non-use, or incomplete protection.

Findings and Recommendations: Preparation of a structured audit report highlighting issues, priorities, and corrective actions, calibrated to business impact.

Depending on the scope and objectives, audit outputs typically include:

• a verified inventory of IP assets and associated rights;
• identification of ownership, compliance, and enforceability gaps;
• categorisation of assets as core/essential, non-core/non-essential, supportive, underutilised, and obsolete assets;
• recommendations for portfolio rationalisation or strengthening;
• inputs for subsequent valuation, licensing, or transaction planning; and
• prioritised action points aligned with business strategy.

The emphasis is on clarity and usability of the outcome, and not theoretical analysis.

For large or multi-jurisdictional portfolios, IIPRD integrates AI-assisted data structuring and portfolio analytics to identify inconsistencies, overlaps, and anomalies at scale, particularly in legacy portfolios with fragmented records.

All findings, however, are reviewed and interpreted by experienced IP professionals to ensure legal accuracy, contextual relevance, and commercial applicability.

In one engagement, IIPRD was engaged by a technology-led enterprise to conduct a structured IP audit as part of internal readiness planning ahead of a proposed capital raise and subsequent commercial partnerships.

The audit involved a consolidated review of the client’s registered and pending patent families, trademark portfolio, software-related copyrights, and inbound licensing arrangements arising from prior technology collaborations. Particular focus was placed on verifying ownership and chain of title, consistency between registered rights and deployed products, and contractual limitations affecting commercial use.

The audit identified, among other issues, patent families no longer aligned with the company’s active product roadmap, incomplete assignment recordals from early-stage development arrangements, and trademark registrations covering legacy offerings with no current market use. The findings were documented in a prioritised audit report distinguishing core or essential assets, supportive and non-core rights, underutilised portfolio elements, and assets that are commercially obsolete or no longer actively maintained or aligned with the business roadmap, together with recommended corrective actions.

The exercise enabled the client to regularise ownership, rationalise the portfolio, and address legal gaps before engaging valuation advisors or entering transaction discussions, reducing downstream diligence risk and execution delays.

For further information, please contact us at [email protected].