Licence rights are the subject of licence agreements if exploitation rights are granted, e.g. to intellectual property. However, trademark rights or design rights can also be the subject of licence agreements.
1.) Subject matter of the contract
The subject matter of the contract should be clearly defined in the licence agreements. This can be either a copyright work, a trade mark or a specific design. The licensee and licensor should also precisely describe the intended use, i.e. what is to be done with the licence rights in practice later. The individual licence rights should be defined accordingly.
2.) Licence Area and Licence Term
The licence territory must also be precisely defined. Should the rights be granted only for Germany or also for Europe? Furthermore, the parties should agree on a precise licence term, e.g. 5, 10 or more years.
3.) Exclusivity
It should not be forgotten to clarify whether the transfer of the licence rights is exclusive or non-exclusive. In the case of exclusivity, only the licensee can exercise the respective rights and exclude others from exploiting them. If, for example, the rights to music recordings are transferred exclusively to a record label, no other company can exploit the tracks.
4.) Rights guarantees
So-called “rights guarantees” are also common. According to these, the licensor guarantees that he has acquired the licence rights and is liable in the event that they do not exist. Finally, the licence fee should be set in dependence on and in relation to all transferred rights. In practice, there are industry practices in this area, but in licensing law one is always faced with the difficulty of what the rights are actually “worth”.
If you have questions about licensing rights or other issues, I will be happy to advise you. It is not necessary for you to come to my office. You can send me your request in advance by e-mail (also with attachments). I will then make you a non-binding offer for a mandate and, if necessary, contact you by telephone. A mandate only comes into effect when the mandate is issued in writing.
