Ip Risk Assessment Reports

Ip Risk Assessment Reports is a key regulatory filing administered by No specific regulator — IP risk assessment is a commercial advisory practice. The reports may be relied on by: (i) the **client** (for internal decision-making — product launch decisions, M&A due diligence, fund-raising); (ii) the **investors** (venture funds, private equity, strategic investors — for IP due diligence before investment); (iii) the **banks and financial institutions** (for IP-backed lending — under the SARFAESI Act 2002 s.31(1)(t) excludes intangibles, but in practice Indian banks lend against IP on a security interest basis — **NOT CONFIRMED — PROFESSIONAL VERIFICATION REQUIRED**); (iv) the **courts** (in IP infringement litigation — as evidence of the client's IP due diligence); (v) the **SEBI** (in IPO filings — under the SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2018 — Reg 26(1) requires disclosure of IP risks; for certain sectors, an IP due diligence report is mandatory); (vi) the **Competition Commission of India** (in merger control — Combination Regulations 2011 Reg 11 — for IP-related combinations); (vii) the **DPIIT** (under the National IP Policy 2016 — for the IP audit of public-funded research institutions).. Filing is executed via No statutory forms — the IP risk assessment reports are produced in the format prescribed by the engagement letter. Standard reports typically include: (i) **IP Audit Report** — a comprehensive inventory of the client's registered and unregistered IP, with ownership status (registered / pending / abandoned), renewal status (for registered IP), encumbrances (licences, security interests), and litigation / opposition history; (ii) **Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) Report** — a non-infringement opinion (with claim charts mapping the planned product / process to the claims of in-force third-party patents); (iii) **Infringement Risk Assessment Report** — a probability-weighted assessment of the risk of an IP infringement suit against the client; (iv) **Brand Availability Audit Report** — a clearance search report identifying identical / similar prior trade marks and recommending whether to proceed with the launch; (v) **Open-Source Compliance Audit Report** — a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) listing the FOSS components used by the client, with the licence of each component and the compliance status (compliant / non-compliant / pending review). under This is a **commercial practice** — no statutory filing or government form is required. The engagement is governed by (i) the **Indian Contract Act 1872** — the engagement letter between the client and I-Pro constitutes a contract for services; (ii) the **Code of Civil Procedure 1908** and the **Indian Evidence Act 1872** — for the admissibility of the IP risk assessment report in any subsequent litigation; (iii) the **Patents Act 1970** (s.2(1)(j) "invention", s.2(1)(ja) "inventive step", s.3 exclusions, s.10 disclosure, s.43 grant, s.53 term, s.64 revocation grounds, s.104 infringement, s.104A burden of proof, s.107A Bolar exception, s.146 Form 27 working-of-patent) — for the FTO analysis of patents; (iv) the **Trade Marks Act 1999** (s.2(1)(zb) "trade mark", s.9 absolute grounds for refusal, s.11 relative grounds, s.29 infringement, s.30 limits, s.47 rectification for non-use) — for the brand availability audit; (v) the **Copyrights Act 1957** (s.13 classes of works, s.14 meaning of copyright, s.51 infringement, s.52 fair dealing) — for the FTO analysis of copyrights (especially software code and content); (vi) the **Designs Act 2000** (s.2(d) design, s.4 registrability, s.11 term, s.22 piracy) — for the FTO analysis of designs; (vii) the **GI Act 1999** (s.2(e) GI, s.21 infringement, s.22 penalty) — for the FTO analysis of GIs (food, agriculture, handicraft products); (viii) the **Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act 2006** (MSME Act) — for the small-entity fee tier in patent and design filings (relevant where the FTO analysis recommends the client file protective IP); (ix) the **Income-tax Act 1961** — s.80-IC / s.80-IAB / s.80-IC for tax deductions on IP-intensive activities; (x) **International standards** — ISO 56005:2020 (Innovation management — Tools and methods for intellectual property management), ISO 9001:2015 (Quality management — applicable to IP management processes), IEC 62305 (NOT relevant to IP risk — this is lightning protection); (xi) **FOSS licences** (for the open-source compliance audit) — GNU General Public License v3 (GPL v3), GNU Affero General Public License v3 (AGPL v3), GNU Lesser General Public License v3 (LGPL v3), MIT License, Apache License v2.0, BSD License (2-clause and 3-clause), Mozilla Public License v2.0 (MPL v2.0), Eclipse Public License v2.0 (EPL v2.0); (xii) **FOSS compliance frameworks** — OpenChain Specification v2.1.1 (Linux Foundation OpenChain Project — ISO/IEC 5230:2020), SPDX Specification v2.2 (Software Package Data Exchange — ISO/IEC 5962:2021).. Our specialist-led team ensures full compliance with statutory documentation, eligibility verification, and expedited government approval.