License
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The verb license or grant licence means to give permission. The noun licence (license in American English) refers to that permission as well as to the document recording that permission.
Licence may be granted by a party ("licensor") to another party ("licensee") as an element of an agreement between those parties. A shorthand definition of a licence is "an authorization (by the licensor) to use the licensed material (by the licensee)."
In particular a licence may be issued by authorities, to allow an activity that would otherwise be forbidden. It may require paying a fee and/or proving a capability. The requirement may also serve to keep the authorities informed on a type of activity, and to give them the opportunity to set conditions and limitations.
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[edit] Intellectual property
A licensor may grant licence under intellectual property laws to authorize a use (such as copying software or using a (patented) invention) to a licensee, sparing the licensee from a claim of infringement brought by the licensor.[1] A licence under intellectual property commonly has several component parts beyond the grant itself, including a term, territory, renewal provisions, and other limitations deemed vital to the licensor.
Term: many licences are valid for a particular length of time. This protects the licensor should the value of the licence increase, or market conditions change. It also preserves enforceability by ensuring that no licence extends beyond the term of IP ownership.
Territory: a licence may stipulate what territory the rights pertain to. For example, a licence with a territory limited to "North America" (United States/Canada) would not permit a licensee any protection from actions for use in Japan.
[edit] Mass licensing of software
Mass distributed software is used by individuals on personal computers under licence from the developer of that software. Such licence is typically included in a more extensive end-user license agreement (EULA) entered into upon the installation of that software on a computer.
Under a typical end-user licence agreement, the user may install the software on a limited number of computers.
The enforceability of end-user licence agreements is sometimes questioned.
[edit] Trademark and brand licensing
A licensor may grant permission to a licensee to distribute products under a trademark. With such a licence, the licensee may use the trademark without fear of a claim of trademark infringement by the licensor.
[edit] Artwork and character licensing
A licensor may grant a permission to a licensee to copy and distribute copyrighted works such as "art" (e.g., Thomas Kincaid's painting "Dawn in Los Gatos") and characters (e.g., Mickey Mouse). With such licence, a licensee need not fear a claim of copyright infringement brought by the copyright owner.
Artistic license is, however, not related to the aforementioned licence. It is a euphemism that denotes approaches in art works where dramatic effect is achieved at the expense of factual accuracy.
[edit] Academy
- National examples of the License are listed at Licentiate
A licence is an academic degree. Originally, in order to teach at a university, one needed this degree which, according to its title, gave the bearer a licence to teach. The name survived despite the fact that nowadays a doctorate is typically needed in order to teach at a university. A person who holds a license is called a licentiate.
In Sweden and some European universities it is approximately equivalent to an MPhil or MRes. In those countries, a licence is a middle-level degree between a master's degree and a doctorate, taken by doctoral candidates, and is a popular choice in those countries where a "true" PhD would take five or more years to achieve.
In other countries, i.e. Poland or France, a licence is achieved before the master's degree (it takes 3 years of studies to become licentiate and 2 additional years to become Master). In Switzerland, a licence is a 4-year degree then there is a DEA degree which is equivalent to the Master's degree. In Portugal, before the Bologna process, students would become licentiates after 5 years of studies (4 years in particular cases like Marketing, Management, etc; and 6 years for Medicine). However, since the adoption of the Bologna Process engineering degrees in Portugal were changed from a 5 year licence to a 3 year licence followed by 2 years for the MSc: Not having the MSc doesn't confer accreditation by the Ordem dos Engenheiros)
[edit] Spelling
In almost all forms of English the noun is usually spelled Licence and the verb License. The exception is US English where both the noun and the verb are spelled License.
[edit] See also
Intellectual property-related:
- Brand licensing
- Compulsory licence
- Cross-licensing
- Music licensing
- Software licence
- Statutory licence
Other:
- Amateur radio licence
- Banking licence
- Broadcast licence
- Dog licence
- Driver's licence
- Firearms licence
- Golf licence
- Hunting licence
- Licence to kill
- Liquor licence
- Marriage licence
- Pilot licence
- Professional licence
- Television licence
- Vehicle licence
[edit] References
- ^ Intellectual Property Licensing: Forms and Analysis, by Richard Raysman, Edward A. Pisacreta and Kenneth A. Adler. Law Journal Press, 1999-2008. ISBN 973-58852-086-9
[edit] External links
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Look up licence in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- Licensing.org, Licensing Industry Merchandiser's Association
- Licensingexpo.com, Licensing International Expo
- HMSO.gov.uk, Licensing Act 2003 - England & Wales
