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Intellectual Property Licensing Toolkit
Practical Law Toolkit 3-569-9765 (Approx. 16 pages)
Intellectual Property Licensing Toolkit
by Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology
| Maintained • USA (National/Federal) |
Resources concerning the licensing of patent, trademark, copyright, and other intellectual property (IP), including technology protected by IP rights.
License grants are a common way of effecting transactions involving intellectual property (IP), including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and other assets and personal rights subject to IP protections. IP owners enjoy certain exclusive rights to use and exploit their protected assets. However, there are often potential benefits from allowing others to exercise all or some of those rights. Entering into a license agreement enables an IP owner to authorize another party to exercise some of the IP owner's rights in the IP while retaining ownership and control of the IP.
License agreements vary based on many factors, including the types of IP being licensed and the context in which the license arises. Common IP licensing contexts include:
- Generating revenue through commercial exploitation of IP.
- Expanding a business:
- geographically; or
- into new product lines.
- Settling infringement claims.
- Selling a business or assets, where the seller continues to need the IP for its retained business.
For resources on software licensing, software as a service (SaaS) agreements, and related transactions, see Software Licensing, Development, and Distribution Toolkit and Cloud Services Toolkit.
This Toolkit contains resources that provide practical guidance on many aspects of IP licensing.