Intellectual property licenses and assignments are commonly used to commercialise intellectual property.

Licensing intellectual property

Under a licensing arrangement, you provide a third party with permission to use your intellectual property. Licensing may be an effective strategy for you to commercially exploit intellectual property. Under a licensing arrangement, you may receive payments in the form of royalties (percentage of sales, etc), however you may prefer more structured and fixed payments.

Assigning intellectual property

An assignment of intellectual property is an outright sale (or transfer) of intellectual property. It involves you transferring all right, title and interest in the intellectual property to a third party. This may be a viable strategy if you would prefer to receive a once-off up-front payment, rather than ongoing royalty payments. A once-off up-front payment for an assignment of intellectual property should be regarded as a purchase price as upon transfer, you would have no future rights or claims in relation to the relevant intellectual property.

How we can assist

We can assist by:

• providing clear advice on various licensing and commercialisation models;
• preparing copyright, trade mark and intellectual property licence agreements;
• preparing commercial agreements, including reseller agreements and distribution agreements; and
• acting on your behalf during contract negotiations.