Intellectual Property Licensing: A Win-Win Agreement

There are several benefits associated with protecting your valuable intellectual property ('IP') through registration. Owners often view registration of their patents, trademarks, copyright and other IP as a way to prevent third parties from using their proprietary idea, brand name or computer code. This is a valid consideration; however it is not the only benefit to an IP owner.

Licensing IP can be a very valuable additional income source to a business, and can be the conduit by which lucrative partnerships are created.

The World Intellectual Property Organization ('WIPO') categorises a licensing agreement as "a partnership between an intellectual property rights owner (licensor) and another party who is authorized to use such rights (licensee) in exchange for an agreed payment (fee or royalty)."¹ In this way, a licensor is able to obtain monetary gain from his or her IP by providing permission to a licensee to use that IP. The specifics of this permission can be