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Let your idea fly
License your idea to established businesses – sit back and enjoy the royalties
Attract well-established industry giants ready to make your idea a success
What is a license?
It’s pretty simple stuff – a license is a permission to do or use something.
A license is granted by a party (known as a licensor) to another party (known as a licensee), as a contractual agreement between those parties, in return for a benefit.
The term license is also used to refer to the document (or contract) that grants the right to a party to do or use something.
Are you ready to take flight?
THE POWER IS YOURS
How can a license help me?
When you sell or assign an intellectual property right (or an idea) it is normally sold for a fixed price. You give up ownership in return for that price. The buyer then takes the idea and makes money from the idea, but normally it does not have to give you any part of the money it makes.
However, with a license, you do not give up ownership. Instead, you let a business use your idea, in return for a royalty, commission or some other benefit. That means, if the business makes the idea a success, you benefit from that success. Their success is your success, and you all share in the money made from the idea.
If that trader doesn’t make the idea a success, you can terminate the license and find a trader that will make it a success.
This is the power of a license.
LICENCE SCOPE
What can I license
Licenses can be anything you want them to be; they can be as specific or as broad as your imagination allows.
Part of the magic of licenses, is that you can limit the scope of a license by defining how, where and for what purpose the licensee is allowed to use what you license. This is referred to as License Scope.
You can restrict the scope of a license to anything you can imagine, such as type of products made under the license, the industry or the location. You can even grant a license on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis.
EXCLUSIVE LICENCES
What is this exclusive/non-exclusive thing?
Part of the power of intellectual property rights is that they grant the owner a form of exclusivity. The owner of that right has, on the most part, the exclusive right to exploit that right in the country in which the right is registered.
A lot of licensees want that exclusivity. They want to power to dominate their marketplace by being the only trader that offers that product or service. Customers will have no choice but to come to them, because they are the only trader offering the thing the customer wants. The trader wants to cut out its competition.
When you license a right to a trader on an exclusive basis, only that trader can use the right – even the owner is excluded. If you license on a non-exclusive basis, you can license the right to other traders.
Marketplace exclusivity gives the licensee the power to dominate their marketplace by excluding the competition.
Let's explore license examples
EXCLUSIVITY BASED ON INDUSTRY SCOPE – PATENT
Meet Bob
Bob is a successful doctor who has invented a device which allows him to inject patients without pain. Bob is also an animal lover and knows that his invention would work well on animals.
He joins Ipleft and lists his patent for license. He attracts a licensee who will use the invention only in the veterinary industry, so Bob can continue to use the invention in human treatment.
In return, Bob is paid an amount of money every time the invention is used under the license.
Bob also doesn’t want to have to deal with lots of other people. So he decides to license his invention on an exclusive basis, so Bob only has to deal with one licensee and the licensee can use it themselves, or license it to many others.
In this example, Bob has also granted an exclusive license for the limited scope of use in the veterinary industry.
Bob can continue doing what he is doing, and sit back and enjoy the royalty payments.
EXCLUSIVITY BASED ON LOCATION – PCT and TRADE MARKS
Meet Susan
Susan is a trade worker. She has invented a way of quickly patching walls with a special mixture that dries faster than the products currently on the market and is better than what is currently on the market. Susan obtained patent and trade mark protection for her invention around the world through the PCT system and WIPO system.
The product needs to be applied to walls in a special way and training is required to apply it correctly. This means that only Susan can apply the product – but Susan can’t be everywhere at once.
Susan lists both the PCT and the trade mark on the Ipleft Platform and links the listing through related listings. She also uploads a video so that people can see how easy the product is to apply, how quickly it dries and how well it works.
Susan offers to license the rights in other areas so she can work in her own area.
As part of the license the licensees must also use her trade mark to sell the product. If she terminates the license agreement, the other traders will not be able to advertise they supply that product.
In this example, Susan has entered into an exclusive license that limits the scope of the license to certain areas for both the patent and the trade mark.
This is the best outcome for Susan as she gets the royalties from use of the product all around the country and she gets the benefit of all the goodwill in the name of the product.
EXCLUSIVE WORLDWIDE LICENCE – PATENT
Meet Charlie
Charlie works in retail, but really wishes she didn’t. Charlie has invented a novel way of easily feeding children medicine with a very clever little feeding tool that needs to be seen to be believed. Charlie took some great advice and obtained a patent in many countries around the world through the PCT system.
She knows her invention is fantastic, knows that parents need the tool and knows the tool will sell. But Charlie isn’t in the industry, doesn’t have any connections in the industry and doesn’t know how to get the tool to market. The tool can also be difficult to explain. She also doesn’t have the time to run a business.
Charlie advertises her PCT as being available for license on the Ipleft platform and uploads a video of how the tool works – so it can be seen in action! She attracts a trader who is established in the industry, has the right connections, who already has products on shelves and who wants to license her PCT rights exclusively around the world.
In this example, Charlie has entered into an exclusive world wide license that does not limit the scope of the license. The licensee can use the invention in any industry, for any purpose and in any location.
As it turns out, Charlie no longer has to work in retail. Instead, she was working on her golf handicap. Golf anyone?
