ContractsCounsel has assisted 111 clients with licensing agreements and maintains a network of 103 intellectual property lawyers available daily. These lawyers collectively have 15 reviews to help you choose the best lawyer for your needs.
A licensing agreement is a written contract between two parties, a licensor and a licensee, that gives permission, under certain conditions, to use another party’s property, like a brand, patent, or trademark.
The licensor benefits from the relationship, too, in the form of royalties; the revenue generated from a licensing agreement.
Licensing agreements can take many forms, including:
Since licensing agreements protect property, scrutiny of any agreement by a professional lawyer is worthwhile. Here are 8 important things to look for in a licensing agreement.
The most important thing to establish is your ownership over anything you are trying to secure a licensing agreement for. For example, in the case of a trademark, you want to ensure it’s already registered in your name.
In that same vein, you must also ensure you are prepared to defend your ownership against claims or disputes. Again, an excellent way to stay prepared is to keep any documentation or evidence of ownership accessible but protected.
Here is an article with examples of licensing agreements.
Performance requirements are sets of stipulations that ensure the original entity’s name is not tarnished and that the brand's standards are kept intact.
For Holiday Inn, their standard is all about keeping their properties well-maintained. They make regular inspections at licensee hotels to ensure hotel owners keep up with the brand standard. If the licensee hotels are not meeting an acceptable standard, they could lose their licensing agreement.
Here is an article about three common types of licensing agreements.
An exclusivity clause or an exclusivity agreement is added to license agreements, in part, to protect their market.
In the case of the Holiday Inn, putting another hotel on the next block of an existing hotel would be counterintuitive. One hotel would just suck business from the other. Under exclusive exclusivity clauses, territory restrictions can protect the market territories around their licensee businesses.
Here is an article about the risks of being a licensee.
Meet some lawyers on our platformIf an affiliate or sub-distributor would be considered in the arrangement, it must be outlined in the license agreement. For example, a subsidiary relationship would allow the licensee to permit a third party to use, or sub-distribute, their property.
For their protection, savvy licensors should ensure expectations of this nature are detailed in the licensing agreement before signing.
Here is an article about the 25% rule for royalties.
A termination clause or a contract termination agreement is included in nearly every licensing agreement, and for a good reason. Licensors need to have the flexibility to cut ties easily if the licensee isn’t holding up their end.
On the other end of the spectrum, if you are looking to be a licensee, consider the implications if you find out the product you agree to sell isn’t a good product after all. It is important to outline agreed-upon exit plans for either party in this section.
Here is an article about what a termination clause should include.
The product liability portion of the license agreement covers which party is penalized if the “use, consumption, storage or transportation of the product cause[s] harm.” If you are looking into a licensee opportunity, make sure the product is something you want to put your name on.
Here is an article about whether licensing an invention is a good idea.
The length of the relationship is another part of a licensing agreement you should be sure to review. It is usually measured in years against a baseline or effective date. A two- to three-year contract is common.
Here is an article where you can find out if you are using the right kind of licensing agreement.
The section of the licensing agreement covering payments and royalties outlines how and when a licensee will pay the licensor to use their property. It is important to flesh this part out at the beginning, as this will set the tone for the entire agreement.
Most licensing agreements define royalties as a percent of sales or a flat payment per unit.
With licensing agreements, the devil is truly in the details, and you want to ensure those details are handled by a seasoned lawyer.
Post a project in ContractsCounsel’s marketplace to receive flat fee bids from lawyers for your project. All lawyers have been vetted by our team and peer-reviewed by our customers for you to explore before hiring.
ContractsCounsel is not a law firm, and this post should not be considered and does not contain legal advice. To ensure the information and advice in this post are correct, sufficient, and appropriate for your situation, please consult a licensed attorney. Also, using or accessing ContractsCounsel's site does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and ContractsCounsel.
My career interests are to practice Transactional Corporate Law, including Business Start Up, and Mergers and Acquisitions, as well as Real Estate Law, Estate Planning Law, Tax, and Intellectual Property Law. I am currently licensed in Arizona, Pennsylvania and Utah, after having moved to Phoenix from Philadelphia in September 2019. I currently serve as General Counsel for a bioengineering company. I handle everything from their Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Placement Memorandums, and Corporate Structures to Intellectual Property Assignments, to Employment Law and Beach of Contract settlements. Responsibilities include writing and executing agreements, drafting court pleadings, court appearances, mergers and acquisitions, transactional documents, managing expert specialized legal counsel, legal research and anticipating unique legal issues that could impact the Company. Conducted an acquisition of an entire line of intellectual property from a competitor. In regards to other clients, I am primarily focused on transactional law for clients in a variety of industries including, but not limited to, real estate investment, property management, and e-commerce. Work is primarily centered around entity formation and corporate structure, corporate governance agreements, PPMs, opportunity zone tax incentives, and all kinds of business to business agreements. I have also recently gained experience with Estate Planning law, drafting numerous Estate Planning documents for people such as Wills, Powers of Attorney, Healthcare Directives, and Trusts. I was selected to the 2024 Super Lawyers Southwest Rising Stars list. Each year no more than 2.5% of the attorneys in Arizona and New Mexico are selected to the Rising Stars. I am looking to further gain legal experience in these fields of law as well as expand my legal experience assisting business start ups, mergers and acquisitions and also trademark registration and licensing.
CA, NY, and FL licensed attorney with nearly a decade of experience in intellectual property, data privacy, commercial contracts, and employment. I also have both the CIPP/US and CIPP/E privacy credentials. Basically, everything your business needs!
I am a solo practitioner, and manager of the Law Office of Nicholas J. Vail, PLLC, with offices in Denver, Colorado and Austin, Texas with a focus on general business and real estate contracts.
Experienced real estate, business, and tax practitioner, representing start up and established businesses with formation, contracts, and operational issues.
I am an Immigration attorney specializing in business, corporate, and family immigration. I have served the immigrant (EB1A/B/C, NIWs, and PERM) and non immigrant (H, L, O, TN, E) needs for individuals, families, start-up companies, and some of the largest financial and commercial companies. I have experience with adjustment of status and consular processing. Please let me know how I can serve your immigration needs.
Meagan Kirchner has nearly a decade of experience in Immigration law. She has significant experience working on H-2B immigration matters. Her practice also focuses on business immigration, particularly representing corporate clients pursuing H, E3, TN, O, and L nonimmigrant classifications, as well as lawful permanent residence (EB-1A, NIW, EB-1C). Meagan has represented clients in a variety of industries including agriculture, hospitality, healthcare, IT, engineering, and finance. Meagan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from George Mason University and a Juris Doctor degree from the George Mason University School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in Virginia and is also a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).
In 1991, Barbara Markessinis graduated cum laude from Albany Law School in Albany, New York. Shortly thereafter, Barbara was admitted to practice in New York State and in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. In 1997, Barbara was admitted to practice in Massachusetts and in April of 2009 she was admitted to the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. After graduating from law school, Barbara worked in private practice in the Albany, New York area and for Sneeringer, Monahan, Provost & Redgrave Title Agency, Inc. before joining the New York State Division for Youth and the New York State Attorney General's Real Property Bureau as a Senior Attorney. During her tenure with the Division for Youth, Attorney Markessinis found herself in Manhattan Family Court in front of Judge Judy! A career highlight for sure! After admission to the Massachusetts Bar, Barbara returned to private practice in the Berkshires and eventually started her own firm in June of 2006. Attorney Markessinis offers legal services in elder law, estate planning and administration/probate, family law, limited assistance representation (LAR), real estate and landlord tenant disputes. In 2016, after a family member found themselves in need of long term care, Attorney Markessinis’ launched her elder law practice. Through this experience, Attorney Markessinis discovered that the process of selecting a long term care facility and/or caregiver, applying for MassHealth and preserving an applicant’s assets are serious issues faced by many people every day. This area of the law is Barbara’s passion and she offers her legal services to families who find themselves in need of an elder law attorney. Attorney Markessinis is part of the Volunteer Legal Clinic in the Berkshire Probate & Family Court and has provided limited free legal services to patients and families at Moments House cancer support center in Pittsfield. She currently serves as a Hearing Committee Member for the MA Board of Bar Overseers and is a member of the Berkshire County and Massachusetts Bar Associations, Berkshire County Estate Planning Council (BCEPC). Attorney Markessinis is also the host of WUPE Talks Law. She also serves on the Town of Hancock Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Board.
Quick, user friendly and one of the better ways I've come across to get ahold of lawyers willing to take new clients.
Contracts Counsel was incredibly helpful and easy to use. I submitted a project for a lawyer's help within a day I had received over 6 proposals from qualified lawyers. I submitted a bid that works best for my business and we went forward with the project.
I never knew how difficult it was to obtain representation or a lawyer, and ContractsCounsel was EXACTLY the type of service I was hoping for when I was in a pinch. Working with their service was efficient, effective and made me feel in control. Thank you so much and should I ever need attorney services down the road, I'll certainly be a repeat customer.
I got 5 bids within 24h of posting my project. I choose the person who provided the most detailed and relevant intro letter, highlighting their experience relevant to my project. I am very satisfied with the outcome and quality of the two agreements that were produced, they actually far exceed my expectations.
