Licensing

An inventor frequently desires to have his invention exploited by another. One way to achieve this is to license the invention.

A licence is in essence a contract between a licensor and a licensee that the licensor will not enforce his right against the licensee. Thus, in the case of a patent, the licensor undertakes not to enforce the monopoly afforded by the patent against the licensee. It is important from the licensee’s point of view to ensure that the right (patent) has in fact been obtained or that the required steps to obtain the right are in place - eg that a patent application covering the invention is on file.

Typically, three kinds of licences can be awarded, namely an ordinary licence (when the licensor himself may also exploit the invention and may award further licences to others), a sole licence (when the licensor himself may exploit but may not award any further licences to others), and an exclusive licence (when the licensor may neither exploit nor award any further licence).

A licence may be awarded with limitations in respect of geographical area, product or service, technical field, term, and the like.
Do you wish to licence your invention?
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