Settlement and Settlement Agreements

A settlement on terms acceptable to both parties (irrespective of the openly negotiated position) is the ideal solution to any intellectual property dispute. However, this is rare and in any litigation strategy you should identify early on what you will compromise on and what is your bottom line. Further, knowing what might be important to your opponent could help you to reach a settlement more quickly.

In so far as is possible, settlement negotiations should be seen as an opportunity to foster business relationships and, where possible generate additional revenue streams for your business.

Once you have reached a settlement it is extremely important to document in writing the terms of the settlement including payment and confidentiality terms and, where necessary, legal undertakings providing that the infringing party will not infringe your intellectual property rights in the future.

As part of any settlement, you may want to consider selling the intellectual property outright or offering a licence under the intellectual property in return for a one off licence fee or yearly royalty.

If Court proceedings have been commenced, it will also be necessary for both parties to sign an Order by Consent wherein the Court is informed of the fact of settlement.