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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.

Theo Brandt
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Theo Brandt
Partner
Licensing your patents without losing control of them

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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