There may be a way to capitalize upon your intellectual property without having to give up your ownership rights to it. This may be in the form of a licensing agreement, as you may receive revenues and royalties from your licensed products or services. Continue reading to learn your rights in a licensing agreement and how an experienced New Jersey licensing agreement lawyer at The Ingber Law Firm can work to protect them.
What are my rights when offering a licensing agreement?
First things first, a licensing agreement is a type of contract in which you (i.e., the licensor) give another party (i.e., the licensee) the right to sell, produce, use, and/or display your protected piece of intellectual property (i.e., copyright, trademark, etc). And since you gave the licensee the right to use your intellectual property, you may earn a profit from their sales in turn.
It is important that your licensing agreement is written clearly and includes clauses that disclose the specific rights of both you and the licensee. For one, you have the right to identify the specific piece of intellectual property that is to be used by the licensee, along with which materials are off-limits. Then, you have the right to instill exclusive restrictions, such as the following:
- The parties that can and cannot use the specific piece of intellectual property.
- The ability that these parties may or may not have to transfer these rights to another party.
- The time and place that these parties can use these rights.
Lastly, you have the right to enforce financial arrangements, such as the following:
- The sales aspects the licensee must abide by.
- The payment method the licensee must use to distribute your earnings.
- The royalty provisions the licensee must use to distribute your earnings.
What should I do if my rights are breached?
Unfortunately, even if you are extremely transparent about your rights in your licensing agreement, a licensee may still breach it. For example, a licensee may get carried away and exceed the scope of exclusivity and usage that you established in your contract provisions. Or, they may go as far as appropriating or stealing your piece of intellectual property for their use and benefit.
If this is your case, then you may have to settle this dispute through litigation. This is so long as you do not have an anti-litigation clause in your licensing agreement. With a successful argument, you may be able to collect monetary damages, injunction, or any other remedies prescribed in the licensing agreement itself.
In the end, you must take the initiative and reach out to a skilled Essex County, New Jersey intellectual property lawyer at your earliest possible convenience. Our team at The Ingber Law Firm will be happy to serve you.
