IP
June 30, 2026
Licensing your patents without losing control of them
Licensing can fund a company or quietly give it away. The difference is usually in four definitions.

Written by
Theo Brandt
Partner

Article
A licence is a promise not to sue. Everything else — field, territory, improvements, termination — decides what that promise costs you.
Define the field narrowly
Licence the use case you understand today, and keep the rest.
Own the improvements
Grant-back clauses decide who owns tomorrow’s version of your invention.
Plan the exit
Termination rights are worth more than royalty rates in most disputes we see.
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