L08 Who is involved

Licensing can involve almost any two parties where at least one, the LICENSOR, has some intellectual property (IP) that the other party , the LICENSEE requires access to.

To licence means to permit what would not otherwise be allowed. The Licensor's IP could be used to prevent anyone, except the licensor, using what it protects. Instead, by licensing the IP, the Licensor allows the Licensee, to use what is protected, subject to the terms of a Licensing Agreement.

    The Licensor thereby "licenses out" what the Licensee "licenses in".

Licensing can occur between many types of party among the most common forms are :

    B2B : Business to Business: The majority of industrial licensing

    U2B : University to Business: Increasingly common as Universities exploit intellectual property they develop but cannot exploit directly.

    B2C : Business to Consumer: Rare except for software licenses

For most business related licensing,both Licensor and Licensee may employ their own professional legal advisors such as Lawyers & Patent Attorneys. Others involved in managing licensing negotiations may include specialised Licensing Executives employed by the Licensor or Licensee. Independent Licensing Consultants also exist to assist firms in marketing or seeking licensing opportunities.