Those entering into a licensing agreement should consult a lawyer as there are complexities that are difficult to grasp for those who do not have a thorough understanding of intellectual property law. Usually, the purpose of a license is that the licensor is passive and receives only royalties, while the licensee operates the business or development and can operate it freely as long as the royalties are paid and other criteria are met. Failure by licensee to comply with the license agreement usually results in termination of the license and payment of damages to the licensor. There are many other methods to consolidate efforts to promote and sell a product or service, ranging from co-ownership of a single company to joint ventures (partnerships of two or more companies) to distribution and distribution agreements. In most cases, a license is the preferred method by a person or company that simply wants to play a completely passive role, namely receiving royalties without being involved in day-to-day or even strategic marketing decisions. As one customer put it, “I just want to sit down and cash my license checks.” With the exemplary profiles of our lawyers, you can be sure that your business is in good hands. Our law firm publishes the Licensing Journal and the IP Litigator. Our lawyers have written more than twenty books on intellectual property and licensing issues. Our firm has negotiated and drafted thousands of licensing agreements in the areas of product development, trademarks, patents and merchandising.
One of our members has been qualified more than thirty times as an expert in licensing and evaluation. Our law firm is at your disposal as part of your licensing requirements. License agreements typically include fees for the use of protected material. In some cases, Licensor may exchange another product or service for use of the Materials. Many license agreements are the result of working with a licensing agency or licensing agent. A license agreement or license agreement is an agreement in which one party grants another party the right to sell, produce, use or display copyrighted material such as copyrights, trademarks, logos or patents. The party to which the material belongs is referred to as the “licensor”, while the party to whom the license rights are granted is the “licensee”. In addition to providing a detailed description of all parties involved, the license agreements detail how licensed parties are allowed to use the properties, including the following settings: B2B Software Licenses: Not all software license agreements are designed to govern the relationship between software owners and end users.
Business-to-business software license agreements include Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) licenses, reseller licenses, and many other agreements. When a party licenses something, they want to make sure it`s being used in the right way. This section of the Agreement describes how Licensee ensures that this is done. This may include regular quality assurance checks or give the licensor the right to monitor the sale. A license agreement is a written agreement that gives you permission to use another party`s property under certain conditions. The two parties to this Agreement are the Licensor (the licensor) and a licensee (the licensor). Free and open source licenses: This type of license gives the licensee much more freedom to use and redistribute software. “Permissive licenses,” for example, contain very few restrictions on how the software can be redistributed, while “copyleft licenses” require the licensee to offer downstream (sublicensee) users the same rights that the licensee obtained from the licensor. This is usually used to make a license free and to require that all users who make changes to the software also offer those changes for free. Software technology is a complex field. Depending on the type of license purchased for software created, the person who holds these rights can set the rules to regulate how their software is installed, used, and maintained.
This section describes how Licensee pays Licensor to use its property. As mentioned earlier, there are many ways to negotiate royalties. When deciding which method is ideal for both parties, you need to consider exchange rates and inflation. Well-drafted license agreements can take up to nine months to negotiate and conclude. Others may be simpler, perhaps only six pages or more. Skillful handling of licensing agreements requires a balanced understanding of business and law. An insightful lawyer is willing to help clients not give too much flexibility in a licensing agreement. Our manufacturing and accounting lawyers` understanding enhances TLO`s® ability to truly protect the interests of licensors while enabling a strong licensing agreement. What is the common mistake software developers make when they first license their products? Software license agreements must be carefully drafted.
A common mistake made by hobbyists, for example, is to omit a clause in an End User License Agreement that retains ownership of the Software in favor of Licensor, but attempts to restrict Licensee`s use of the Software. The contract must protect the rights of the owner of the software at least to the extent specified in copyright law, otherwise a court is likely to invalidate the contract. This error is just one of many pitfalls that can make a software license agreement ineffective, even catastrophic. If you intend to license your software, an experienced Priori software licensing attorney can help you negotiate the terms of the contract. License agreements ensure that you have legal permission to use another person`s or company`s property. For example, if you use an artist`s song in an advertisement, you`ll need to sign a license agreement to do so legally. If you use the song without permission, you may infringe copyright and risk being sued or fined. Grimes LLC`s legal team takes the time to advise them on your business goals and priorities and can identify and address terms that are critical to your licensing situation. We accompany you in the negotiations to reach a favorable agreement and, if necessary, advise you if the proposed conditions are not in your best interest. Our personal attention in drafting and reviewing such agreements allows you to avoid generic contracts that do not reflect your real needs and actually interfere with your efforts to achieve your desired goals. Our experienced approach often saves you long unsuccessful negotiation times and leads to permanent and profitable licensing agreements.
Licensing simply means granting another person the right to use an asset they own for specific purposes and usually for a specific payment or series of payments called a “royalty.” In most cases, a party licenses the right to sell or exploit any goodwill it possesses, such as. B intellectual property, product or methodology. Some examples include a license to develop and promote a patented product and sell it in a specific territory; a licence to use its own product as part of a mixture of products sold; a license to use a trade name or logo to sell a product in a specific location; the license to publish a copyrighted work that you have written, etc. etc. Any number of terms can be included in a software license agreement. Some of the most common are: Some licenses require the licensee to pay an upfront fee (“license fee”) to obtain a license. This is usually the case when the product is particularly desirable, there are several non-exclusive licensees, and the mere receipt of a license is a competitive activity. In some cases, these initial license fees count towards royalties earned through sales, and in some cases, they are completely in addition to the actual royalties earned. .
