Licensors (persons or organizations who give another person or organization official permission to make, do, or own something) use license agreements to grant their licensees (persons or organizations who have official permission to make, do, or own something) the right to use certain intellectual property (an umbrella term for a set of intangible assets or creations of the human mind), including software, trademarks (symbols, phrases, or insignia which are recognizable and represent products which legally separate them from other products), service marks (brand names or logos which identify businesses), inventions, and patents (property right granted by a government office allowing the inventor exclusive rights to the invention).
Besides the property being licensed and the royalty rates (usually defined as a percentage of sales or a payment per unit as payment to an individual or company for the ongoing use of their assets, including intellectual property), license agreements can also include representations (assertions that certain facts are true on the date they are made to induce the other party to enter into a contract), warranties (a promise to indemnify if an assertion is false), termination provisions, terms of indemnity (an undertaking to protect somebody against future damage, loss or injury) and dispute resolution clauses.
KEY VOCABULARY
to grant license / licence
indemnity
to indemnify
intangible asset
intellectual property
invention
inventor
licensor
licensee
patent
representation
royalty rate
service mark
trademark
to warrant
warranty
