LICENSING
For Vendors
A license agreement is the means by which to provide technology products to others, for a license fee, without giving up any ownership rights. It is the document that permits purchasers to use intellectual property they do not own. However, the license agreement is, or at least should be, a great deal more than that. It does not just grant rights to use. By careful licensing, many technology products may be licensed for multiple uses in multiple fields. The license would limit use exclusively to the field covered by that license. For the proper technology product, the same licensee might purchase multiple licenses for the same technology product, to be used in different area, as specified in the license.
The license should set limits and parameters on the use of the technology product, whether in terms of the number of users, the extent of use or the nature of the use. It is also a limiting device, which can protect the licensor from demands or complaints from the licensee. Licenses can be complex or simple, just like the technology products which are the subject of the license. Properly crafted, they can also be used to encourage vendors to continue using the technology products.
For Purchasers
The license agreement, which often remains unread, is the map to what is permitted and what is not, with regard to the licensed product. It also will define the nature of the licensed product. The definition is all important, to assure that the technology product being licensed does what the purchaser intended. It is the contract which will secure the purchaser's rights, if the purchase goes wrong. The provisions of the license agreement, usually written from the standpoint of the vendor, are what a court will look to if there is a dispute. It is necessary that the meaning of the provisions in the license be understood and be negotiated. For those issue which are non-negotiable, there are often way around the licenes language, but only for those who plan ahead and plan smart.
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