78188 Intellectual Property Commercialisation

This subject covers much of the law and some of the business and economics of intellectual property commercialisation, focusing on the licensing of intellectual property. Intellectual property is a broad field, including patents, trade secrets, copyrights, semi-conductor chip protection, trademarks, passing off, internet domain names, among others.

Licensing of intellectual property takes different forms in different types of businesses. Research and manufacturing businesses typically license technology, such as patents and trade secrets. They also may license copyrights (for example, in computer programs) and protected semi-conductor chip designs. Multimedia licences, such as those for films, video games and multimedia websites, often involve multiple copyrighted properties, and virtually every business has a trademark or trade name that might or must be licensed.

This subject considers most, if not all, major types of businesses and their licensing practices. No single subject, however, can cover all the nuances of law and practice affecting all of the industries that may involve licensing. the subject focuses primarily on technology licensing (of patentable inventions and trade secrets), but also discusses licensing of 'soft' intellectual property, including such things as computer software and multimedia properties like video games.

The subject is interdisciplinary. About one-third of its substance explores the business and economic aspects of licensing, including the scope of a licence, how licensors make money, and how business people estimate the economic value of intellectual property and licensing rights. Another third discusses legal considerations in licensing, including relevant intellectual property law, antitrust or competition law, involuntary licensing by operation of law, the problem of 'clearing' legal rights in intellectual property, and selected issues in international practice, such as jurisdiction and enforcement. The final third involves practice or 'skills' training in drafting and negotiating licences and getting a 'sense of the deal' in licensing transactions.