Licences

In order to use intellectual property, permission is required from the owner. Such permission is usually called a licence and can be sold or granted free of charge. With a licence, the owner grants certain rights of use. The scope of these rights of use results from the licence.

A licence is an authorisation by the owner of an industrial property right to use this right in whole or in part. The licence may be entered in the register held by the Austrian Patent Office (→ ÖPA)^{German text}. 

The scope of the specific right of use, whether restricted or unrestricted, results from the licence agreement. In most cases, this includes the right to use, manufacture and/or sell.

The licence may

• be limited to one country, to a group of countries or to the whole world
• be limited to certain market sectors or products
• be exclusive or non-exclusive
• include permission for the licensee to grant a further licence to other persons.

You do not need to market your property right yourself. Licensing affords you the possibility of exploiting your property right commercially, without selling said right in its entirety.

Legal basis

Patentgesetz