Legal & Compliance
Intellectual Property Assignment
Legal transfer of all IP rights from founders and employees to the company.
IP assignment agreements transfer ownership of all intellectual property created for the company from individual creators to the corporate entity. This is a universal requirement in VC deals — investors need assurance that the company owns its core technology. IP assignment covers patents, copyrights, trade secrets, and any work product created by founders, employees, and contractors. Gaps in IP assignment are among the most common due diligence issues.
In Practice
During Series A due diligence, the VC discovers that the CTO's employment agreement doesn't include IP assignment. The round is held up until a proper PIIA (Proprietary Information and Inventions Assignment) agreement is executed.
Why It Matters
IP assignment gaps can kill deals. VCs need certainty that the company — not individual founders or former employees — owns the technology they're investing in.
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