Often during a transaction or financing, intellectual property will show up as a simple list of assets, cleanly scheduled in the back of the deal documents or security agreements. Scheduling is great, but what can you do to see behind the list and delve into the issues around creating, registering, enforcing, licensing, and maintaining that IP, so you can hopefully ensure it will retain its potentially significant and stated value? Some of the risks to be discussed in an open forum include:

• Trademarks, licensing, and reputation/goodwill, and how they work together under trademark law.
• NFTs and other digital assets: who really owns what?

Revisiting the sticks in the bundle under copyright law.

• Patents, trade secrets and related intangible property; what are they and what must be done to protect it.
• Tax structures and their ability to take advantage of the value but also put at risk the underlying IP.
• Litigation and liability for infringement, and the costs of maintaining IP assets.