Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Re: Lease of patent

Individuals attempting to license patent rights face numerous decisions that have critical bearing on their ability to commercially exploit a particular patent and negotiate compensation for those rights.

Some of the key issues involved in patent licenses include:

1. Nature of the License: Is the patent license exclusive or non-exclusive?

2. Term: The length of the license is critical because it is important to remember that patents don't last forever.

3. Uses: The uses of the license must be clearly spelled out. As an example, you may want to limit the use to certain applications, to certain geographical territories, or to certain markets.

4. Royalties: Royalty payments can be structured in many ways: an upfront one-time payment, periodic payments based on sales of the patented product, etc.

Please feel free to contact our office to discuss the details of your specific Intellectual Property Law needs.

THE COMMENTS CONTAINED HEREIN ARE FOR GENERAL INFORMATIONAL USE ONLY NOT AS LEGAL OPINION. NO ATTORNEY/CLIENT RELATIONSHIP HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED.

Re: Lease of patent

It would be a license rather than a lease. The simple answer is that it is subject to negotiation. This would be different depending on the industry, what type of patent, etc. You could assign the patent for a one-time payment or license (exclusive or non-exclusive).