Patent Licensing and Monetization
Axenfeld Law Patent Licensing
A patent license is an opportunity to monetize your patent assets. At Axenfeld Law, we can assist you in drafting and negotiating patent licenses to optimize the returns on your patent investments.
A patent license agreement is a contract in which a patent owner grants specific rights under a patent to a licensee, such as a manufacturer or retailer, in exchange for monetary payments. These payments can be made as royalties over time. There are numerous aspects to consider when crafting a patent license, including:
- Granting an exclusive license where the patent owner grants a license to only one party
- Granting a non-exclusive license where the patent owner grants a license to multiple parties
- Defining the field of use provision and tying it to payments
- Deciding whether payments are based on gross or net sales
- Determining whether payments are fixed and/or royalty-based
- Establishing the duration of the license agreement, which can vary from a few years to the life of the patent asset(s), or may terminate if the licensee fails to meet minimum revenue benchmarks
- Allowing sublicensing, which grants the licensee the right to bestow certain rights to make or use the patent asset(s)
- Permitting the licensee to transfer the license
Additional Patent Licensing Considerations
It is crucial to recognize that even if you have created a groundbreaking invention, inadequate representation during licensing negotiations could result in a license agreement that appears favorable but yields little to no revenue. Avoid a situation in which a licensee reaps the benefits of your intellectual assets without adequately compensating you for your invention.
It is prudent to engage patent attorneys experienced in drafting numerous patent license agreements. While hiring a patent attorney with expertise in licensing law may require a higher initial investment, it is well worth it to ensure a well-drafted patent license agreement.
Axenfeld Law Group’s patent attorneys have collectively drafted and negotiated hundreds of patent license agreements involving conglomerate companies, start-ups, physicians, inventors, and individual entrepreneurs across various major industries, including software, information technology, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, equipment, and devices.
If you would like more information about our patent licensing services and how we can help you draft a profitable patent license agreement, please contact Axenfeld Law.
Patentability Search and Opinion Services
Before filing a patent application to protect your invention, it is advisable to conduct a comprehensive patent search to assess the likelihood of your invention qualifying for a patent. Performing a patentability search prior to preparing and filing a patent application is more efficient and cost-effective. Otherwise, you may find that the time and significant expense spent on preparing and filing your patent application, without the benefit of a patent search beforehand, is wasted if the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office rejects your invention due to a lack of novelty.
At Axenfeld Law, a patent attorney licensed to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office will obtain a professional search, analyze the results, and provide a patentability opinion on whether your invention is likely patentable in the United States.
Although no patent search is foolproof, it can help us better understand the distinction between what is novel and non-obvious. Axenfeld Law’s patent search services and patentability opinion will also assist you in determining the true innovativeness of your invention and the scope of patent coverage you can reasonably expect to be granted. While the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ultimately determines the breadth of patent coverage, our patent search services will enable Axenfeld Law to draft a more robust patent application for you. Based on the results of a high-quality patent search, our objective is to prepare a patent application for you with the highest chance of allowance by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
If you’d like to begin the patent process and have a patent search performed and analyzed, please contact a federally licensed patent attorney at Axenfeld Law.