Employment Contract Template with IP Provisions (UK 2025)

When You Need This Contract

Comprehensive IP provisions in an employment contract ensure that all intellectual property created during employment belongs to the employer. While UK law generally assigns IP created in the course of employment to the employer, express contractual provisions provide certainty, cover edge cases, and address moral rights. The clause must cover all types of IP including patents, copyright, designs, database rights, and trade marks, and should address inventions, the duty to disclose, and the treatment of IP created outside normal working hours.

Key Clauses

• Assignment of all IP created during employment across all IP categories
• Invention disclosure and assistance obligations
• Moral rights waiver for copyright works
• Provisions for IP created outside working hours using company resources
• Post-employment obligations to assist with IP registration and enforcement

What to Watch Out For

• Relying solely on the statutory default position without express contractual assignment, which leaves gaps for IP created outside normal duties
• Not obtaining a moral rights waiver, which allows the employee to object to modifications of their work even after leaving

Sample Clauses

• Sample IP assignment clause: 'All Intellectual Property Rights in any work, invention, design, database, trade mark, or other creation made by you in the course of your employment shall belong to the Company. You hereby assign to the Company by way of present assignment of future rights all such Intellectual Property Rights, and agree to execute all documents necessary to perfect this assignment.'
• Sample moral rights waiver: 'To the fullest extent permitted by law, you irrevocably and unconditionally waive all moral rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 in respect of all works created during your employment, including the right to be identified as the author and the right to object to derogatory treatment of the work.'