Foreground IP

Definition

Foreground IP is intellectual property created specifically during a project.

Treatment

Foreground IP treatment must be defined in the relevant contract or Statement of Work.

Possible models include:

• customer owns Foreground IP

• company owns Foreground IP and grants customer a licence

• shared ownership

• ownership split by deliverable type

• company retains reusable components and customer receives project-specific outputs

Key Considerations

Before agreeing Foreground IP terms, consider:

• whether reusable company IP is embedded

• whether third-party IP is included

• whether customer data or confidential information is involved

• whether the output has future reuse value

• whether the customer requires ownership for operational reasons

• whether licensing is sufficient

• whether supplier IP is involved

Operating Rule

Never assume Foreground IP ownership.

Always check the contract and Statement of Work.