Licensing
If you want to use someone else’s intellectual
property (IP), you will need to get a licence and agree the terms with the
owner. There are different kinds of licences available and you. Our booklet “How Licensing
Intellectual Property Can Help Your Business 
(2.43Mb)” provides an overview of IP licensing
and contains a checklist (92Kb) of useful points to consider when preparing
for IP licensing negotiations. We welcome your feedback on these resources.
If you would like to send us your comments or require any further information please email us on B2Blicensingfeedback@ipo.gov.uk
If you decide to pursue licensing you are advised to seek professional advice and to enlist a qualified lawyer or patent or trade mark attorney in relation to drafting a licence.
Copyright
You may be able to get a licence to use works protected by copyright. Under some circumstances, you can make limited use of copyright works without the owner's permission.
Designs
You may be able to get a licence to use a registered design.
Patents
You may be able to get a licence to use inventions protected by patents.
Trade marks
You may be able to get a licence to use registered trade marks.
Know-how (trade secrets)
You are advised to carefully consider how
any know-how will be identified and how the confidentiality of any know-how is to be maintained when
licensing it from another party. Our booklets on IP licensing (2.43Mb) and
on Confidentiality
and Confidential Disclosure (Non-Disclosure) Agreements (84Kb) (CDA) offer some advice
on this subject.
