Granting a licence for your product or technology

What is a licence?

When you grant a licence, you give a business or individual permission to use your protected intellectual property (IP). You are the licensor; the other party is the licensee. When you grant a licence, you remain the owner of your IP. In exchange for the licence, you can ask for a fee (royalties), such as a share of the profits.

What can you grant a licence for?

You can grant a licence for products, services, or creations that are protected by intellectual property rights (IP rights). For example, protected by a patent, copyright, or design right. You can also grant a licence for knowledge and information that you protect as a trade secret. In that case, you can enter into confidentiality agreements with your licensee.

With a licence, you give someone permission to:

• Produce, use, or sell a product or service that you have patented.
• Publish any type of creative work for which you hold copyright. For example, a photo, text, software, drawing, or film.
• Reproduce a design that you have registered in the designs register.
• Use a trademark that you have registered in the trademarks register.
• Grow plants of a variety for which you have plant breeders' rights.
• Use knowledge, expertise, and data that you protect as trade secrets.

Types of licences

There are different types of licences, such as:

• An exclusive licence: a single licensee is granted the exclusive right to use the patent; the licensor will not use the patent themselves.
• A semi-exclusive or non-exclusive licence: one or more licensees are granted the right to use the patent, alongside the licensor.
• An open licence: anyone who meets your conditions is granted the right to use the patent For example, a Creative Commons licence..

You can also give permission only for:

• sales in a particular country
• use of your technical invention in a different market segment
• use of your technical invention in a different type of product

You can arrange this in such a way that licensees do not compete with your business.

Entering into a licence agreement

Do you want to grant a licence? If so, it is wise to set out the agreed terms in a licence agreement – or in your general terms and conditions. This means that your rights and obligations, and those of the licensee, are clear. Consider agreements regarding collaboration, financial matters, and potential disputes, such as:

• What is the licensee allowed and not allowed to do with your product?
• How long will the licence remain valid?
• What fee will you receive for the licence?
• What if someone else copies the product without your permission?

Finding licensees for your patent

Are you looking for a partner to license a product or technology for which you have a patent? Then you can find licensing parties in patent databases, for example, or through a knowledge broker. Knowledge brokers look for a suitable partner for the licensor and the licensee. They play a mediating role in this process.