Inbound

Inbound licensing can be an excellent way to boost sales, but it must be done carefully and in accordance with the law. Under inbound licensing agreements, you can utilize another company’s IP with your products. Whether your business is requesting inbound licensing from another entity or that entity has approached you about an agreement, the Messner Reeves licensing team is here to help.

Outbound

Outbound licensing agreements can also be beneficial for your company. These agreements give limited rights to your IP to another business. However, they are just as tricky as inbound agreements, as you must protect your IP. This can be difficult to accomplish without an experienced licensing attorney on your side.

Celebrity

Celebrity licensing is when a celebrity grants a third party the legal right to use their name, image, brand, or likeness for the third party’s benefit. Usually, this means that the third party uses the celebrity in a promotion or to sell its goods or services. In return, the celebrity is compensated financially, often with royalties. Celebrity licensing agreements may restrict what the third party can use or how long they can use it. If you require legal help in a celebrity licensing matter, a Messner Reeves licensing attorney can assist you in setting up the desired arrangement.

Voice and Likeness

Voice and likeness licensing isn’t simply about celebrities anymore. Instead, it’s redesigning how we interact regarding entertainment, music, sports, and even reality. With the explosion of artificial intelligence or AI, protecting and utilizing voice and likeness is now more critical than ever. Whether you are exploring using voice or likeness for your gain or want to protect your voice and likeness, the licensing attorneys at Messner Reeves have the knowledge and experience you need to protect yourself in this ever-evolving landscape.

Music

A music license grants another party the right to use the music publicly, typically in exchange for a flat fee or royalties. Either way, these arrangements must be protected by a licensing agreement under the confines of the law. These agreements should include how long the agreement is for— some are for a specific amount of time, and others are indefinitely or purchased outright from the legal owner. Our team of licensing agreement lawyers has extensive experience in the music industry with licensing agreements and can leverage that to help you.

Software

A software licensing agreement allows the software company to sell the use of its software to other parties but still retain ownership of its code and programs. A software license agreement determines the terms for what you can and cannot do with the software. Such contracts need to be specific to protect all parties involved. Our attorneys can help ensure that all of these agreements are considered to protect your business and help it get the most out of the contract.

Patents, Trademarks, Trade Dress, Trade Secrets, Copyrights

Legal protections for IP include:

• Patents: Protect the design and functionality of an invention for a limited time, usually 20 years. In exchange for the patent, the inventor must disclose their invention to the public.
• Trademarks: Trademarks identify the source of a product or service to avoid confusion among consumers. They are also used to distinguish a brand from its competitors.
• Trade dress: A type of trademark that is protected under the Lanham Act. Trade dress must be distinctive and non-functional. It can be registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
• Trade secrets: This is a business’s secret information that has economic value. Trade secrets give an advantage over competitors and can include ingredient formulas and secret processes.
• Copyrights: Protect creative works, such as literary, artistic, educational, and musical works. Copyrights give the creator the sole authority to manage and profit from their work.

Whatever IP legal protections your company is dealing with, our licensing team can represent your interests to secure the best possible outcome. We represent clients of all sizes, including multinational companies, non-profit organizations, and sole inventors. Our IP attorneys handle licensing across numerous sectors, such as hospitals, medical devices and technologies, software, engineering, blockchain architecture, cellular/telecom, sports, entertainment, music and book publishing, cannabis, technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and music. Our attorneys also serve as patent acquisition and licensing counsel for several research institutions’ technology transfer offices.