License

A license is permission granted from an authority to exercise a certain privilege to own or use something, do a particular thing, or carry on a trade. It is not a property right, and should not be confused with such a right. This means that someone to whom it is issued – this person is referred to as the licensee – has no absolute right to the license, but, rather, holds it subject to the power of the authority figure – this person is the licensor – who issued it. An example in the context of intellectual property is a trademark license. Under such an example, the licensor who owns the trademark will license to a licensee who wants to use the mark, giving that licensee the privilege to use the mark in certain contexts or situations, in exchange for payment from the licensee back to the licensor for the privilege of doing so. In this regard, the licensor can passively earn income, and the licensee can earn money from actively by, for example, selling goods or services to its customers or clients. A different legal method to transfer rights is an assignment, which is a complete transfer of property rights in the thing being transferred.