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Contract & Commercial Law vocabulary · Intellectual Property

License

Meaning in contract & commercial law, with examples

/ˈlaɪsns/nounCore term

In contract & commercial law, license means: Permission from the owner of a right, such as a patent, trademark or software, allowing someone else to use it under agreed conditions, often in return for payment.

In Turkish: lisans, kullanım izni, ruhsat

How it is used

The owner is the licensor and the user is the licensee. A license may be exclusive or non-exclusive, limited to a territory and a period, and transferable or not. The verb is also 'license': 'We license the software to 200 customers.'

Example sentences

  1. The customer receives a non-exclusive license to use the software in Turkey.

  2. They licensed the brand to a manufacturer in Egypt.

Common collocations

  • grant a license
  • exclusive license
  • license agreement
  • license fee
  • under license
  • intellectual propertyLegal rights over creations of the mind, such as inventions, brands, designs, software and written works; the main types are patents, trademarks, copyright and designs.
  • royaltyA payment made to the owner of a right, such as a patent, brand, book or song, usually calculated as a percentage of sales or a fee per unit sold.
  • patentAn exclusive right, granted by the state for a limited period, to make, use and sell an invention in exchange for publicly disclosing how it works.
  • trademarkA sign such as a name, logo or slogan that identifies the goods or services of one business and distinguishes them from those of others.
  • franchiseA business arrangement in which the owner of a brand and business system lets others run outlets using its name, methods and support in return for fees.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Intellectual Property

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.