Intellectual Property: License Agreements

A license is an agreement between two or more parties granting rights from one of the parties to the other in exchange for something of value. Typically, the license is granted based on the payment of money from one party to another. The license agreement typically provides permission from one party to another to use the intellectual property rights of the other party. However, the party with the intellectual property rights retains ownership of the intellectual property. A license agreement is typically limited in scope and can provide for some but not all of the associated rights. In some cases, the license agreement is limited to a specific use and in other cases it is limited to a specific territory. Depending on the needs of the parties, the license agreement can be non-exclusive or it can be exclusive.