What Things Should Be Included When Drafting A Licensing Agreement?

Businesses in Australia commonly let each other use their intellectual property against a certain amount or any valuable item. So, are you also someone who is contemplating about leasing out your intellectual property to another business? If your reply is yes, then you must draft a substantial licensing agreement right away. Whether you’re renting out your copyrights or trademarks, you must license them comprising a lawfully drafted agreement. This document is required as part of another crucial contract too.

Purposes A Licensing Agreement Serves

As the owner of your intellectual property, you might need a licensing contract for the following reason –

• If you are recruiting someone or have partaken in a creative activity.
• If you recruit someone to design your logo for you.
• If you are purchasing royalty-free music or stock photos or
• If you get involved in an affiliate agreement or that of a joint venture

Remember, if you’re a professional engaged into creativity or hire a similar professional, then, certain copyrights do apply. These copyrights will be applicable in relation to your created work. Subsequently, they’re either being licensed or assigned under the pertinent agreement. The client will optimize a non-exclusive license applying to your created work if the contract has no assignment or license. Keeping these aspects in mind, following are some of the most crucial points worth including in any license agreement.

Royalties Or Payments

Certain payment schemes are accessible pertaining to license agreements. Payments can be made for license agreements through royalties (a percentage of sales), or flat fees. Cross licenses specifically are not incurred by a financial payment. Payments can also be made for licensing agreements through annual payments. The amount of royalties again differs according to a number of factors. These chiefly include profits, net revenues and gross revenues etc. So, specifying the basis for your royalty is imperative when you’re drafting a licensing agreement.

Transfer Or Assignment

Licenses can be transferred or assigned to another party as well. You are permitted to do so unless it is stringently denied in the licensing agreement. Companies who are specifically willing to sell their assets can reap the maximum benefits of this privilege. This is because an exclusive license of this sort is considered immensely valuable to such business owners. Conversely, the licensor might not wish to get into a commercial relationship with a completely unknown and unapproved person.

The Termination Clause

The clause of termination conventionally specifies the conditions under which the agreement can be terminated. Besides, it also specifies the procedure of termination by elucidating each point. Say, for instance, if both or either of the parties breaches the agreement, then, the other party can terminate it. This can be done with the assistance of an ‘opportunity to cure’ and a properly drafted written notice. The former refers to the scope for either of the parties to mitigate the breach of the agreement.

Duration Of The License

A licensing agreement can be of two different durations. Firstly, the license can be drafted for a particular period of time. On the other end, it can also last for a lifetime. A licensing agreement can also be drafted based on renewable durations. Suppose, the license is a five year contract. Then, it can be renewed in accordance with increments every one year.

Optimal Confidentiality

Both the parties must maintain utmost confidentiality about everything which has been licensed in the licensing agreement. This rule specifically applies to businesses requiring drafting trade secret licenses. According to this criterion, both the parties must maintain discretion in relation to the crucial terms of the licensing agreement. Conventionally, a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) must be amalgamated with these kinds of licenses imperatively.

The Clause Of Attribution

This clause applies specifically to trademark licenses. According to this condition, trademark licenses must include requirements to attribute the actual source of the materials or the author. The particular criteria regarding the mode of usage should also be included in the agreement. The reason is trademark licenses require a particular set of rules. Subsequently, these rules should be optimized to display the trademark along with the symbol of the registered trademark. This will allow businesses to maintain the validity of their trademark.

License Usage

A licensing agreement can be used to serve all kinds of purposes. Conversely, the usage can also be constrained for serving a limited number of purposes. Prominent examples include using the agreement for a specific motion picture or while selling in a trade show etc. Say for instance, you cannot sell copies or print copies outside your pertinent nation. In the same way, your agreement allows you to license a person to electronically publish your written book.

The Territory

Different types of license agreements are incurred by different types of territories. Say for instance, some agreements are meant for a particular region, pin code or nation. On the contrary, certain licensing agreements can be used all over the globe. You may want to license it universally if the agreement has been drafted for an indefinite period of time

Non-Exclusive VS. Exclusive Licensing Agreements

The intellectual property holder can license the work to a single person in case of an exclusive license. It applies to the specific territory or use by which the license has been incurred. A non-exclusive licensing agreement is completely used for a different purpose. Say for instance, you’ve painstakingly created an array of templates of WordPress. Customers who are purchasing these templates can use the latter agreement to make the best use of those templates.

Contact The Best Licensing Agreement Lawyers In Perth!

A license agreement is a substantial document which assists you to manage, protect and control your intellectual property. So, why not drafting it in assistance of stalwart legal professionals? The top licensing agreement lawyers in Perth can provide you the finest assistance in this matter. The best property lawyers Perth are thoroughly knowledgeable about different types of property rights such as copyrights and trademarks etc. So, depending on your unique requirements, Property Lawyers Perth will create the most compatible licensing agreement for you