Thinking about IP

At the beginning of October I posted a blog post on transferring IP out of PCTs. The Department of Health has since then issued guidance for PCTs and SHAs which can be accessed here.

The guidance documents set out information for the transfer of intellectual property to new and existing NHS organisations (Receivers) prior to 1 April. They will not be applicable to those assets that will not transfer nor to organisations which will not be part of the Department of Health or NHS from 1 April 2013.

In summary the guidance states that IP will be transferred in the following ways depending on which body will receive the functions supported by the transferred IP:

IP owned by SHAs will either transfer to the NHS Commissioning Board or other appropriate Receiver;

IP owned by PCTs will transfer to a nominated Receiver; and

if more than one body requires the IP for the performance of its functions the nominated Receiver should grant a non-exclusive perpetual licence for a nominal fee to such other Receiver(s) and the Receivers will need to agree who the nominated Receiver should be in this instance.

The 'Transfer documentation: identifying legal title in assets and liabilities and completing transfer documentation' guidance document sets out a table of key dates to bear in mind. Some of the upcoming key dates are:

  • 13 December 2012 - the second set of instructions for Transfer Schemes will be submitted;
  • 31 December 2012 - all new Receiver bodies will be established by correct legal entity details and assets and liabilities are allocated to nominated Receiver(s);
  • 17 January 2013 - the third set of instructions for Transfer Schemes will be submitted; and
  • 31 January 2013 - the final set of instructions for Transfer Orders to be submitted.

Please note that the guidance explicitly states that it is not a comprehensive overview and advises SHAs PCTs and Receivers to seek independent legal advice to ensure they satisfy their respective statutory and internal governance obligations in respect of the transition.

As indicated in my previous post PCTs should be considering whether the default Receiver is the most appropriate body for the intellectual property to be transferred to.

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