CTO labscto labs logo

Making Intellectual Property Analysis Clear

CTO Labs helps you quickly size and assess with confidence open-source licence compliance, code ownership, and associated technical intellectual property risk:

  • identify licence obligation

  • mitigate legal exposure

  • pragmatic, data driven and clear

Book a time with our M&A Team - start getting clear on your IP Risk today.

Liabilities in Tech aren't easily seen. Investors and advisors need clarity, fast.

Open source software is the foundation of modern applications, used to supplement in house development and speed up time to market. The use of Open Source Software is increasing exponentially.

The devil is in the detail and the obligations each piece of code contains. This makes commercial sizing of software code and supply chain IP Risk a challenging technical terrain to climb.

Our approach

Using a 3 step methodology we analyse, synthesise and report & mitigate, with commerciality of your thesis at the core.

1. Licence Analysis
We leverage a number of technical tools to deeply analyse the code-base of the asset, exploring the different open-source licence types, their
2. Legal Analysis
Working in-conjunction with a legal provider we synthesise the findings including materiality, type of copyleft licence, commercial risk, size of code risk etc.
3. Reporting & Mitigation
We provide details of the risk position and provide input into risk mitigation options (indemnities, technical solutions, etc.)

“Working with CTO Labs was a very positive experience. They helped us cut to the chase quickly on complex tech as part of a significant investment deal. They have a knack of slicing and dicing things in a way that makes technology risk and constraints actionable and clear. Very happy to recommend.”

Peter El Khouri
Quadrant Private Equity

Our capabilities

Licensing terms vary
From free to permissive and variable copyleft provisions. Failure to comply with licence terms can result in legal and financial consequences, such as damages, injunctive relief, and even the loss of rights to use the software.
High risk financial penalties
The estimated financial risk can vary depending on a number of factors, including the specific open source licences involved, the type and scope of the investment, and the company's level of understanding and compliance with the licence terms.
Loss of proprietary code
Some open source licences require that any software that incorporates that code must also be released. This can create significant legal and financial risks for companies where this code has been incorporated into proprietary software products.

CTO Labs' complex-made-clear dashboard reporting helps you understand and prioritise risks and options for remediation.

CTO Labs Tech IP Analysis Sample

What's Next?

New Project

Approaching a transaction is the ideal time to quickly evaluate IP Risk and understand what obligations might be lurking under the hood.

Existing Portfolio

We work with investment teams on their existing porfolio, sizing hidden obligation and helping take stock of IP risk across assets.

Why CTO Labs

CTO Labs specialises in technical due diligence focused in the merger and acquisition space. We partner with you - and your legal team - to help quantify your open-source licence compliance, code ownership and associated technical intellectual property deal risk in a pragmatic and data driven way. Because we also write software for a living, we can contextualise the risk and assist in determining effective mitigation strategies.

Our analysis is based on:

  • deep open source specialisation;

  • ability to match technical usages to Open Source licence terms and quantify accordingly;

  • familiarity working with legal, investors and target companies;

  • including particular working constraints in M&A deals; and

  • a pedigree of working with well regarded brands, including KKR, Macquarie Capital, Five V Capital, Bain & Co and more.

Get clear on your IP Risk today - book at time and let's talk.

Call today,Or we can call you.+61 429 342 051connect@ctolabs.com.auRequest callback