The National Security and Investment Act 2021 introduces a major new screening regime for transactions and deals. It has a broad scope, applying to the acquisition of rights to use assets (including IP) as well as to the acquisition of entities. The former will be subject to a Government 'call in' power that will entitle it to review essentially any deals it thinks might have an adverse effect on UK national security. This power is backdated to 12 November 2020, so deals that have already completed are vulnerable to retrospective review.
As we prepare for the Act's commencement on 4 January 2022, this session considers how it will apply to transfers and licensing of IP rights, knowhow and confidential information. This webinar was particularly relevant to higher education and other research-intensive sectors and looked at:
- how does the NSI Act work?
- how will it affect IP?
- what sectors / applications are likely to be at most risk of review?
- how can universities and other research-focused institutions / businesses navigate these risks?
