Albright IP Limited

Protecting your innovation

+44 (0)1242 691 801

Speak to a UK and European Patent and Trade Mark Attorney

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Licensing

Are you a trade mark owner thinking about licensing your brand? Or are you looking to obtain a licence permitting you to use someone else’s trade mark? The team at Albright IP can assist you throughout the process, guiding you through negotiating, drafting, recordal and enforcement.

A license is an agreement between two parties that allows another to use a registered trade mark in commerce. Usually the agreement will be limited as to duration and scope and subject to a number of quality control measures which ensure the proprietor retains strength and integrity in his brand.

  • A brand is developed
  • Registration is obtained
  • It is time to seek to increase profits & opportunities

Why Licence?

There are a number of benefits associated with the granting or taking of a licence. Put simply, a licence ‘out’ allows a proprietor to retain control over his brand, whilst opening up future markets and creating an extra revenue stream. A licence ‘in’ allows rapid expansion or entry into a marketplace without the exposure to the risk of setting up a new venture, and limits the financial liability to a payment based on profits.

In addition, the existence of a licensing arrangement will maximise the gain and value derived from advertising and marketing initiatives by increasing the consumer’s exposure to the product or service being provided under the trade mark.

  • Turn an idea into money
  • Create a second source of supply
  • Increase visibility
  • Increase the speed of market penetration
  • Enter new or foreign marketplaces

The Essentials

If you are thinking about licensing there are a few issues that should be borne in mind. Firstly, one should remember that unless the licensee can add substantial value to your brand or is in a strong negotiating position, then an exclusive licence should not given.

Instead, you should think about a partial (limited) or non-exclusive licence. In this way, the permission granted to use the trade mark will be subject to certain provisos, such as use for limited periods or staggered royalty fees for continued use. Alternatively, geographical limitations may be appropriate to ensure that the licensee does not compete in an area or territory where you wish to give a licence to another user, or to use exclusively yourself.

Other than identifying the trade mark and the names of parties entering into the licensing arrangement, the nature of goods and/or services that will be offered under the terms of the licence must also be stipulated by the agreement. The trade mark registration being licensed may cover a wide range of goods and services, yet a licence can limit use down to just one or a few of the goods/services registered.

The benefit of licensing ‘out’ use of a trade mark for goods or services not yet in use by the trade mark owner is that it will prevent or provide a defence to a revocation action brought by another party against those goods/services that have not been put into use by the trade mark owner over any 5 year period.

It is commonplace for licence agreements to contain a clause setting out the ‘royalty’ arrangements. These are negotiated at the outset and can be reviewed. Payments can be on an annual basis, bi-annually, quarterly or whatever suits. Generally, they will be based on a percentage of net profits, but can be a fixed fee.

The Risk

Anyone thinking about tasking or giving a licence must consider the risks. Not only can an under-performing or uncontrolled licensee diminish the brand strength, but they could even bring about the complete demise of it. In this regard, a trade mark owner must waive any legal responsibilities over how a third party operates their own business in order to avoid negligent or criminal charges, and ensure quality is retained.

To this end stringent quality control measure and monitoring procedures need to be stipulated in the licence agreement from the outset to protect the trade mark owner’s reputation guarantee to deliver the same quality standards as their consumers will have come to expect. In order to maintain control, it is common for the licensor to require and be able to insist upon access to the manufacturing facilities or the premises where the services are provided, whilst also being able to assess/ inspect the finished product or their raw materials to which the trade mark will be applied or associated.

 

Thinking about licensing…? Contact the team at Albright IP

Here at Albright IP we can provide assistance in the drafting, negotiating, recordal and enforcement of any licensing agreements.

We know the formalities that are required, and will ensure that any licence agreement that you sign up to is recorded at the UK IPO, the Community Trade marks Office or any other appropriate registry in a jurisdiction to which the licence purports to have effect.

Trade mark rights can take years to establish and develop; the anxiety to exploit your rights for commercial gain, should not overshadow the need to ‘police’ and protect them. Please seek our advice at the outset, don’t wait for issues to arise.

If you would like further information, please email us directly here or call +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak to a qualified British and European Trade Mark attorney.

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What Our Customers Say...

Albright IP Limited
Albright IP Limited
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David Chalk
David Chalk
21:43 02 Jun 20
Great service, attention to detail and truly actionable advice. I've no hesitation in recommending Albright IP and Adrian in particular. Many thanks.read more
George Tatham-Losh
George Tatham-Losh
13:29 05 Feb 20
Fantastic service as always, detailed, informative and all the hard work was done with minimal input from myself. I have been working with Katie and her fantastic team for years and would highly recommend.read more
Christopher James
Christopher James
16:59 20 Jan 20
Choosing Albright IP was one of the best decisions I have made. Adrian and Cloe have both helped me tremendously so far, they are very professional, friendly, prompt and always there to help and answer any questions. Katie Oliver has also been wonderful assisting with the trademark. Thank you all and looking forward to continue to work with you.read more
Richard Hearn
Richard Hearn
16:05 22 Nov 19
Excellent professional advise and extremely honest and upfront people. Many thanks Adrian and your team!
Brian Gibbs
Brian Gibbs
07:32 23 Aug 19
I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Albright IP Ltd having received superb service and support throughout. Every query I raised was dealt with professionally and very quickly by Will who provided fully detailed and regular updates as well being approachable and friendly at all times. I have full confidence in Albright IP!read more
Warren Philbey
Warren Philbey
10:54 18 Jul 19
From the first call I had a great feeling, polite, friendly, informative and professional. From then it just got better and after a great deal of help and support in understanding our needs we contracted with Albright and they did a fantastic service, exceeding any expectations and proving themselves to be a truly wonderful company to work with. 10 stars! A big thank you to Adrian and his team.read more
Terence Hodgson
Terence Hodgson
23:06 12 Jun 19
I have not had reason to contact Albright for several years since the granting of my Patent but quite recently I did get in touch. It was as I remembered, friendly, professional, honest and informative. It appears that Adrian and the Albright team are there for me no matter the length of time. T Hodgson. UMU HSA Ltdread more
Paul Sims
Paul Sims
12:40 12 Apr 19
Adrian and The Albright Team are Professional and Helpful. It has is a real gem to found such great people to act as part of my extended legal team regards Patents. I am pleased to recommend and have them represent my Registered Patents. Thank you. www.thebluebearpartnership.comread more
Nick Ball
Nick Ball
19:16 12 Mar 19
High quality service at a reasonable price. With Albright you feel you're in very good hands. Marc was always courteous, responsive, well informed and generous with his time. I would have no hesitation recommending Albright or working with them again.read more
Andrew Stewart
Andrew Stewart
16:27 26 Feb 19
Great depth of expertise, advice and counsel. Not only expert advisors, Albright IP provide valuable, balanced and cogent advice on complex (and simple) matters of patent and trademark law. Delivered with great clarity, always available and keen to provide balanced perspectives in support of good outcomes. Great partners, highly recommend.read more
Simon Bradbeer
Simon Bradbeer
11:37 05 Feb 19
After leaving a well known London based attorney Albright IP were recommended to me by a colleague within the group. Since then Adrian and his team have consistently given me superb advice and support whatever the project. With their help the company has been granted a number of robust patents, registered designs and trademarks.read more
Scott Johnson
Scott Johnson
14:59 11 Jan 19
I have known Adrian Hocking for over 10 years. The service he and his colleagues offer is professional, transparent and friendly. If you have an idea that is either completely new or you think is a step-change from what is currently available, I recommend that you contact Albright IP.read more
Hannah Azar
Hannah Azar
11:10 24 Dec 18
Adrian is an exceptionally talented and experienced patent attorney. I was very impressed by the quality of work produced by the team at Albright. A fast, helpful and friendly service.read more
Oliver Pearce
Oliver Pearce
19:11 01 Dec 18
Fantastic one to one service. Knowledgeable. Friendly. Competent. And very rapid response to queries. Very impressed!read more
Simon Folmann
Simon Folmann
21:32 26 Nov 18
Adrian Hocking and Albright IP have offered us excellent service, and expertise over the last 12 months. They explain in detail the processes, implications, and opportunities with obtaining and securing Intellectual Property and for a Product Development company such as ours, it is crucial that the terminology and quality of work be above industry standard. I can with high confidence say, that the delivered work so far from Albright IP and their team, is unparalleled to prior partners we have had in IP; and I am sure it will continue to do so in our future endeavours together.read more
Martin Boyd
Martin Boyd
15:17 03 Nov 18
Excellent technical and legal knowledge. Amazing friendly customer service catered to individual customer needs. Highly recommended.read more
Mike N
Mike N
16:14 08 Oct 18
Albright-IP - We can highly recommend Albright-IP, after contacting several patent companies prior to application - we were after a patent company to offer realistic and practical advice, be able to process our claim from start to finish, After speaking with Mr Doherty on the telephone we decided Albright -IP would be able to offer the skills and knowledge required for our application and asked them to represent us. Albright-IP were on hand to explain the complexities of the process and how our claim may or may not be defended in the real world, Mr Will Doherty is our patent attorney, he was professional and attentive, his knowledge and customer service is very good. We are confident our patent application is in good hands and we are pleased to have Alrbight IP there to assist us with our application, without their input we may well have been wasting our time due to our lack of knowledge in this complex matter.read more
Jeffrey Chua
Jeffrey Chua
08:47 14 Sep 18
We worked with Albright IP Limited on patent applications in EU and UK, specifically through Cloe Loo. Cloe and her team have done a fantastic job. We were glad to have assistance from Albright on our patent application journey. I am impressed by the team's professionalism and we will be engaging Albright to be our long-term legal adviser in patent applications.read more
Graham Kelly
Graham Kelly
17:49 07 Sep 18
I have a granted patent! thanks to Will and the team at Albright. ? Friendly and helpful service, it's great how they can very quickly grasp the required understanding of your idea and put pen to paper and draft a patent. Will was great at pointing out what are valid aspects of my idea and taking me through the process of what that means in patent language! A few more steps to go to hopefully gain the overseas coverage. ?read more
Geraint Morgan
Geraint Morgan
09:44 21 Aug 18
Albright IP provided an excellent, efficient, affordable high quality service that made the whole patent filing experience an enjoyable one - contrary to previous experiences. We are certainly more likely to consider patenting our innovations in the future based on our recent experience and would highly recommend Albright IP to others.......read more
Don Spence
Don Spence
12:07 09 Aug 18
Filing patents can be a steep learning curve but Adrian does an excellent job explaining the process. Adrian and his associates are easy to contact and they will always answer your questions. Money and cost are important and the Albright team do their best to make sure your $$ is spent in a wise fashion. After working with Albright for 6 years, I am happy with their work and I have no reason to change companies. My many thanks for professional service.read more
Graeme Allison
Graeme Allison
22:54 31 Jul 18
Adrian and his team provided and excellent service, their technical understanding is fantastic and patent advice has been impeccable, I’d highly recommend Albright IP should you be looking for patent expertise.read more
Mark Hendriksen
Mark Hendriksen
16:12 17 Jul 18
Exceptional. Guided me through the process in clear understandable steps. Hoping we have a long and successful future ahead with the patents they've so expertly managed for me so far.read more
jing cheng
jing cheng
13:12 19 Jun 18
I contacted Adrain for advise in a short time frame. He is very professional and clear about price policy. He has very good understanding of online business and IP law. He is very quick responding and speakes the language I understand. Highly recommended.read more
Lorenzo Rimoldi
Lorenzo Rimoldi
12:44 07 Jun 18
Adrian was very helpful, upfront and clear on processes, costs and timeline. He's very professional and proactive in his involvement and support. I would definitely recommend Albright IP.read more
Mohammed Deria
Mohammed Deria
04:06 01 Jun 18
Adrian is a true professional at the top of his field! Due to his background in engineering, Adrian effortlessly understand the needs of his client even when it is highly technical in nature. An attentive ear and huge generosity with his time, Adrian's support to us as a client has been extremely valuable. I would highly recommend Adrian and the team at Albright IP for protecting your IP.read more
Guy Procter
Guy Procter
17:36 21 May 18
What can I say, excellent help so far! Very clear and helpful service, explained in terms you can understand covered everything I thought I needed and then some more to give me all the options available. More than willing to recommend Albright IP.read more
Kirishan Siva
Kirishan Siva
09:14 17 Dec 17
The Albright team were extremely helpful and knowledgeable in the whole patent process for our product and went through each process in registering patent to help us understand this fully. Highly recommend Adrian and team for their knowledge, efficiency and professional service!read more
Jade Baron
Jade Baron
16:05 25 Nov 17
Adrian Hocking at Albright handled my recent patent application. I've been very happy with his service. He was very responsive to my questions and explained everything thoroughly. He was very supportive of my idea and consistently positive, which was also helpful. Albright has relationships with various other businesses that help inventors, so it's kind of a like a one-stop-shop. Highly recommend.read more
Meopham Fencing
Meopham Fencing
15:27 08 Nov 17
Great advice and customer service at a reasonable price. They have enabled us to finalise our case satisfactorily. Would happily recommend them and use them again.read more
James Garritt
James Garritt
09:17 17 Oct 17
Adrian and his team have been fantastic in all works asked to do. They have ensured my idea has been protected in every way. They have helped with the design process also and I could not wish for a better team. You may be paying a little more than you feel is expected....but you get what you pay for and you probably save money in the long run. Highly recommended.... use without worry.read more
Tony Laycock
Tony Laycock
16:06 02 Oct 17
I have found that the company has given me excellent service in getting my patent through the process. Every time I have had a phone conversation I have felt I was given plenty of time to discuss what was happening. Along with sound advice I have been able to make great progress. In my opinion it is one of the best companies I have ever dealt with and would be happy to recommend them.read more
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Helpful Tips

You can avoid large extra official fees when filing your US patent application by changing any multiple dependency claims to single dependency, so that your later claims only depend back to one previous claim.

By also limiting your claims to no more than three independent claims and to no more than twenty claims altogether, extra official fees will also be avoided.

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Cheltenham Head Office

Albright IP
County House
Bayshill Road
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire
GL50 3BA
United Kingdom

 

(use for all correspondence)

Cornwall Office

Pool Innovation Centre
Redruth
Cornwall TR15 3PL

 

London Meeting Room

5 Merchant Square
London, W2 1AY

 

See the Contact Us page for details

Contact Us

Cheltenham: +44 (0)1242 691801
Cornwall: +44 (0)1209 316161
London: +44 (0)20 3813 2885

Email: info@albright-ip.co.uk

Vat No: 891 4780 86


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