The types of intellectual property license are divided into general license, exclusive license and exclusive license. General license means that the licensor allows the licensee to use the intellectual property content agreed in the contract within the specified geographical scope, and at the same time reserves the right to use the intellectual property itself within the geographical scope and sign a license contract with a third party on the intellectual property. Exclusive license means that the licensor allows the licensee to exclusively implement its intellectual property rights in the designated area, and no longer allows the third party to implement its intellectual property rights in the area, but still reserves the right of the licensor to implement its intellectual property rights on its own. Exclusive license means that the licensor allows the licensee to enjoy the exclusive right to use the intellectual property within the specified geographical scope, and no third party, including the licensor itself, has the right to use the intellectual property.
Differences between external licenses:
1. The agreement is not clear, and if the parties have no agreement on the licensing method or the agreement is not clear, it shall be deemed as a general license. If the licensing contract stipulates that the licensee may sublicense others to exercise intellectual property rights, such sublicense shall be regarded as a general licensing, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.
2. In the transfer of technical secret achievements, if one party transfers the transfer right of the technical secret achievements to others without the consent or ratification of the other party, or licenses others to use the technical secret in the form of exclusive or exclusive license, the transfer or license shall be deemed invalid.
3. The external licensing of the trademark * * * is not clearly stipulated in the law whether the trademark * * * can be licensed separately, but it is recognized in judicial practice that the trademark * * * can be licensed externally through ordinary licensing.
4. The external license of the copyright cooperator, and the copyright of the cooperative work shall be exercised by the cooperator through consultation; If no agreement can be reached through negotiation without justifiable reasons, neither party shall prevent the other party from exercising other rights except transfer, exclusive use and pledge, but the proceeds shall be distributed to all co-authors reasonably.
5. Where there is an agreement on the patentee's foreign license, patent application right or patent right, such agreement shall prevail. If there is no agreement, * * * someone can exploit the patent alone or license others to exploit it by ordinary license; Where another person is licensed to exploit the patent, the royalties collected shall be distributed among the owners.
To sum up, intellectual property licensing can maximize the value of intellectual property rights, promote the implementation and transformation of intellectual property achievements, help revitalize intellectual property rights and avoid idleness. Whether from the perspective of utilization or maintenance, the business strategy of licensing others to use intellectual property rights is of economic value, which can open up competitive markets for intellectual property owners and bring considerable economic benefits to them to a certain extent, and is a necessary part of the enterprise's intellectual property strategy.
Legal basis:
Article 862 of the Civil Code of People's Republic of China (PRC)
A technology transfer contract refers to a contract that the obligee legally owns the technology and transfers the related rights of the existing specific patent, patent application and technical secret to others.
A technology licensing contract refers to a contract in which the obligee legally owns the technology and licenses the related rights of the existing specific patents and technical secrets to others for implementation and use.
The clauses in the technology transfer contract and technology licensing contract that provide special equipment and raw materials for the implementation of technology or provide relevant technical consultation and technical services are an integral part of the contract.
Article 863
Technology transfer contracts include patent right transfer, patent application right transfer and technology secret transfer.
Technology licensing contracts include patent licensing, technology secret licensing and other contracts.
Technology transfer contracts and technology licensing contracts shall be in written form.
Article 864
A technology transfer contract and a technology licensing contract may stipulate the scope of patent implementation or the scope of use of technical secrets, but they shall not restrict technology competition and technology development.
Article 865
A patent licensing contract is only valid within the term of the patent right. Where the term of validity of the patent right expires or the patent right is declared invalid, the patentee may not conclude a patent licensing contract with others for the patent.