License
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Property law |
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Part of the common law series |
Acquisition of property |
Gift · Adverse possession · Deed |
Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property |
Bailment · Licence |
Estates in land |
Allodial title · Fee simple |
Life estate · Fee tail · Future interest |
Concurrent estate · Leasehold estate |
Condominiums |
Conveyancing of interests in land |
Bona fide purchaser · Torrens title |
Estoppel by deed · Quitclaim deed |
Mortgage · Equitable conversion |
Action to quiet title |
Limiting control over future use |
Restraint on alienation |
Rule against perpetuities |
Rule in Shelley's Case |
Doctrine of worthier title |
Nonpossessory interest in land |
Easement · Profit |
Covenant running with the land |
Equitable servitude |
Related topics |
Fixtures · Waste · Partition |
Riparian water rights |
Lateral and subjacent support |
Assignment · Nemo dat |
Other areas of the common law |
Contract law · Tort law |
Wills and trusts |
Criminal Law · Evidence |
To license or grant licence is to give permission. A licence (British English) or license (American English) is the document demonstrating that permission. License may be granted by a party ("licensor") to another party ("licensee") as an element of an agreement between those parties.
Contents |
[edit] Occupational
Obtaining a license is required of a number of occupations and professions where maintenance of standards is required to protect public safety, for example physicians, psychologists, and electricians are often licensed by the government or professional societies.
[edit] Intellectual Property
A licensor may grant license under "intellectual property" to do something (such as copy software or use a patented invention) without fear of a claim of intellectual property infringement brought by the licensor.
A license under intellectual property commonly has several component parts, including a term, territory, renewal, as well as other limitations deemed vital to the licensor.
Term: many licenses are valid for a particular length of time. This protects the licensor should the value of the license increase, or market conditions change.
Territory: a license may stipulate what territory the rights pertain to. For example, a license with a territory limited to "North America" would not permit a licensee any protection for actions in Japan.
[edit] Mass Licensing of Software
Mass distributed software is used by individuals on personal computers under license from the developer of that software. Such license is typically included in a more extensive end-user license agreement (EULA) entered into upon the installation of that software on a computer.
Under a typical end-user license agreement, the user may install the software on a limited number of computers.
The enforceability of end-user license agreements is sometimes questioned.
[edit] Trademark and Brand Licensing
A licensor may grant permission to a licensee to distribute products under a trademark. With such a license, the licensee may use the trademark without fear of a claim of trademark infringement by the licensor.
[edit] Artwork and Character Licensing
A licensor may grant a permission to a licensee to copy and distribute copyrighted works such as "art" (e.g., Thomas Kincaid's painting "Dawn in Los Gatos™") and characters (e.g., Mickey Mouse™). With such license, a licensee need not fear a claim of copyright infringement brought by the licensor.
[edit] Academia
A licence is an academic degree in many European universities which is approximately equivalent to a master's degree. Originally, in order to teach at a university, one needed this degree which, according to its title, gave the bearer a license to teach. The name survived despite the fact that nowadays doctorate is typically needed in order to teach at a university. A person who holds a licence is called a licentiate. Currently, a licence is a middle-level degree between a master's degree and a doctorate.
In some countries, i.e. Poland or France, a licence is achieved before the master's degree (it takes 3 years of studies to become licentiate and additional 2 years to become master).
[edit] See also
- Software license
- Intellectual property
- Aviator
- Private Pilot's License
- Amateur radio license
- Federal Communications Commission
- Music Licensing
- Dog licence, Driver's license, Television licence, Fishing licence, Hunting licence
[edit] External links
- Industry Merchandiser's Association
- Broad Street Licensing Group (useful information about licensing from a licensing agency)
- Danish local government rebels against MS license terms
- Licensing Act 2003 - England & Wales
- Technology Licensing Practices in France by Christian Bessy and Eric Brousseau - survey of patenting and licensing strategies in France