Licensing Agreements for Patents and Utility Models 1. When is a licensing agreement a good idea?
The decision of whether or not and when it would be desirable to enter into a licensing agreement is always based on a commercial evaluation. So it is not always easy to be clear about when would be the best time to enter into a licensing agreement. There are advantages to doing it as early as possible during the lifetime of the technology/invention and there are advantages to doing it as late as possible. It is not necessary to wait until a patent or utility model has been granted before entering into a licensing agreement. How to proceed when the patent or utility model is granted or refused simply needs to be written into the licensing agreement. It is however advisable that both parties, prior to commencing negotiations, draw up an agreement comprising a non-circumvention agreement, a declaration of intent and a confidentiality agreement, so that both parties are clear about what happens if the patent is refused. Licensor: If you are a licensor it could be a good idea to outlicense
