License agreements and IT contracts

License agreements are always considered when a property right is transferred for use. Property rights are primarily considered:

1. a copyright, such as software

2. patents and utility models

3. intellectual property rights related to copyright

4. a design right

5. a Community design

6. a trademark

7. other trademark rights

8. the general right of personality

9. the right to one's own image

10. know-how

For a brief explanation of the aforementioned property rights, see here.

Each of these intellectual property rights has its own special features with regard to licensing. Software copyright, for example, is not transferable. Only rights of use can be granted. Patents, on the other hand, can either be transferred or rights of use can be granted. It is therefore necessary to clarify exactly which rights are affected by an object of protection.

It is often the case that several objects of protection and property rights can be affected at the same time. For example, a piece of software may contain two intellectual property rights with regard to the program code and the images it contains and one trademark with regard to the name of the software.

Please refer to our various separate articles on individual topics, e.g. on the question of whether and how EULAs are required for software.