Common Licensing Mistakes

Emily Bayton

World IP Day
LES Arizona Chapter
Monday, April 28, 2014
 Failing to Consider the Intangible
Assets Being Licensed
Type of IP Considerations

Patents, patent applications and know-how Licensee may need rights to other patents to
practice the invention; rights are territorial; joint
inventor considerations no duty to account;
what about any improvements made and/or
patented during the term of the license?
Trademarks Rights are territorial; quality control
considerations
Copyrights/Software Work for hire trap (employee-created v.
contractor-created); joint authors duty to
account by joint authors; what rights are being
licensed copy, distribute, perform, display,
create derivative works or all of the above)

Rights of Publicity State law governs; what rights are being licensed
name, image, likeness, voice; post mortem
rights
Trade Secrets State law governs; duty to implement reasonable
measures to protect secrecy of trade secret;
confidentiality provisions
 Failing to Define the Grant
Parties Whos allowed to exercise rights?
Subject matter What IP is being licensed?
Rights What is licensee allowed to do with IP?
Territory Where can rights be exercised?
Exclusivity Are rights, exclusive, sole, non-
exclusive or a hybrid?
Term How long can rights be exercised?
Restrictions Are rights
assignment/sublicensable? Restrictions on
licensor?
 Failing to Define the Grant (cont.)

Problems with the license grant can include:

Failure to spell out terms of grant
Improper grant language
Over-granting/under-granting
 Failing to Define the Grant
Type of Grant Description

Exclusive Exclusive license grants the rights to the licensee to the

exclusion of all others, including the licensor; an
exclusive licensee has the contractual right to exclude all
others from its particular area of exclusivity
Sole Sole license grants rights only to licensee, but NOT to
the exclusion of the licensor; sole license prevents the
licensor from granting other licenses but do not prevent
licensor itself from using the licensed rights
Non-exclusive Non-exclusive license grants rights to the licensee, but
does not preclude licensor from granting similar licenses
to others.
Hybrid Exclusive for a period of X years; non-exclusive
thereafter

Exclusivity can be broken down by different categories:

Territory (state, regional or country basis)
Product type
Distribution channels (e.g., exclusivity for wholesale sales or distributions via the Internet; certain
stores or customers)
 Failing to Define the Grant (cont.)
Other Considerations:
Is the grant sublicensable?
Open sublicense rights; limited to only parties in privity with licensee; only
affiliates of the licensee; only a specified number of third parties; only parties
preapproved by the licensor
Essential protections for licensor if grant is sublicensable:
Notice of sublicense grant
Specify terms that must be included in sublicense or include form sublicense agreement
in license and language that sublicense must be substantially the same terms and in the
same form as attached form sublicense agreement
Ability to audit sublicensee
Notice if licensee becomes aware that sublicense has breached sublicense agreement
Right to enforce sublicense

Is the license assignable?

Typical presumption that a contract may be assigned by either party unless
there is an express prohibition on assignment
If prohibiting assignment, does it cover all situations (asset transfer,
reorganization, merger, transfer by operation of law)?
Particularly important for start ups need to consider business need for having
the right and ability to assign the license.
 Failing to Define the Grant (cont.)
Failure to consider future expansion of use (different product lines; different social
media outlets)
Licensee may wish to seek to address future expansion of the license through the
following:

Requires the licensor to give the licensee the

Right of opportunity to match any proposed terms that
the licensor may receive from a third party for
First Refusal licensing the licensed trademarks for the
specified uses.

Requires the licensor to negotiate in good faith

Right of with the licensee before offering to license the
licensed trademarks to third parties for the
First specified use. The licensor then typically may not
offer to third parties more favorable terms than
Negotiation those it offered to the licensee.
 Failing to Address Enforcement and
Litigation Rights
Enforcement/Litigation Rights
IP rights can be diminished or lost by failure to enforce rights
against third-party infringers.
Licensor typically retains enforcement rights in licensed IP, its
not always the case and rights and obligations should be spelled
out in license.
Key Questions:
If IP is infringed by a third party, how such infringement will be
handled (who will notify; who will file suit; who is in charge of
suit; costs borne by licensor or licensee or divided)?
If there is a recovery for infringement, how that will be divided
between licensor and licensee?
Right to settle by licensor or licensee; by licensor only with
consent of licensee; by licensee only with consent of licensor?
 Failing to Address Termination
Rights and Restrictions
Termination rights: What if the license isnt working?
Do you have an out?
Potential Termination triggers:
By Licensor (at specified time; upon breach (right to cure v.
no right to cure); failing to meet minimal sales; at any time;
licensee challenges the IP or licensors ownership of the IP;
other)
By Licensee (at any time upon X days of written notice; at a
specified time; only upon payment of penalty of X dollars;
upon breach (right to cure v. no right to cure)
General events triggering termination (upon expiration of
IP; upon a finding of invalidity of IP (by court, by PTO);
upon bankruptcy of either party)
 Failing to Address Post-Termination
Rights and Restrictions
Parties should address:
Process for licensee to stop or phase out use of licensed rights; removal of
trademarks and other licensed IP
Allocation of IP rights (revert back to licensor; does licensee retain any rights?)
Phase out of use
Return of confidential information
Treatment of inventory or materials bearing IP (return to licensor; destruction
within X days)
Cancellation of any licenses recorded in foreign jurisdictions
Survival:
Important that some rights and obligations continue beyond termination of
license (e.g., payment of remaining royalties, indemnification and limitations of
liability, confidentiality obligation, restrictive or non-competition covenants)
Consider downstream effect of termination
Do sublicenses terminate?
 Failing to Consider Ways to
Structure the Deal
As Licensor, what do you want out the license? (revenue, access to data,
build brand by entering new market or territory where otherwise dont
have resources, exposure)

As Licensee, what do you need from the licensee? (access to certain

technology, brand recognition)

Ways to structure the deal:

Royalty free
Royalty (percentage of profits; of gross sales; of net sales; specific amount; per unit
price; others)
Single lump sum payment
Milestone payments (what they are and amount owed)
Other considerations for the deal structure:
Minimum payments for licensee
Tax obligations
Report and audit rights
 Failing to Impose Duty of Diligence
on Licensee
Diligence is concept that the exclusive licensee will do all it can to
operate under the license so that the licensor reaps the monetary
benefit of the licensee. If this is NOT addressed, the licensee can sit
on technology and preclude others from commercializing the IP.
Diligence is usually covered by license in the ABSENCE of minimum
royalty requirement.
Best efforts to
Reasonable best efforts to
Agreement to produce or sell certain number of units
Agreement to invest a specified amount
Not to refuse reasonable requests for sublicense
What are penalties for lack of diligence
License converted to nonexclusive
Termination
 Failing to Include Proper
Representatives and Warranties
Common mistakes:
Failing to include proper reps and warranties.
Relying on boiler plate provisions without
consideration for deal and IP being licensed.
Taking an unreasonable position on reps and
warranties and allocation of risk.
 Failing to Include Proper
Representatives and Warranties
Ownership

Licensor owns the IP being licensed (or has obtained all rights
necessary) to grant the licenses granted in the license.

Validity

The IP being licensed is valid and enforceable.

Non-infringement

The IP does not infringement on any third-party rights, and licensees

use as provided for under the agreement will not infringe on the
rights of any third party.
 Failing to Include Proper
Representatives and Warranties

Factual Accuracy

Licensor guarantees factual accuracy of any information it provides

regarding the IP (can be important in copyright context).

Authority

Parties have the authority and ability to enter into the license and
perform the obligations under the license.
 Failing to Address License
Recordation Obligations
Certain jurisdictions have mandatory recording
requirements for IP licenses.
In other jurisdictions, recording is optional, but
provides licensor with additional benefits:
Ability to transfer royalties out of that country.
Enforce the license against third parties.
Claim costs in proceedings for infringement that occurred
before the license was registered.
Build recordation obligation in license discussing:
Who bears burden to record?
Licensees obligations (i.e., assist in providing licensor with
information necessary to record license).