IPR Insurances

IPR insurance policies are liability insurances which are normally used as cover for legal costs and damages payable in situations relating to infringement of intellectual property rights. IPR insurance policies are relevant for companies holding industrial rights, in particular for high-tech companies, whose activity may be based on industrial rights to a significant extent.

IPR insurances are central in the management of risks relating to industrial rights. Such risks include, for example:

1)   claims and actions concerning the company’s industrial rights:

• claims concerning infringement by the company of a third party’s industrial rights;

• claims demanding the company to relinquish its industrial rights; or

• claims demanding the company to cease use of its industrial rights.

2)   claims and actions initiated by the company in relation to industrial rights:

• claims regarding infringement by a third party of the company’s industrial rights;

• claims demanding a third party to cease unauthorized use of the company’s industrial rights.

3)   claims for damages relating to the aforementioned causes.

An IPR insurance policy does not automatically cover all of the aforementioned issues. Instead, the scope of the policy and the industrial rights to be covered by the policy are agreed on a case-by-case basis.