NEW GUIDE ON TECHNOLOGY LICENSING

WIPO Update 237, issued yesterday, announces the publication of what it calls "a new practical guide on how to negotiate technology licensing agreements", published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the International Trade Centre (ITC). Called Exchanging Value – Negotiating Technology Licensing Agreements, it introduces the basic issues arising in licensing negotiations of intellectual property and offers insights into how they may best be handled.

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The publication claims to offer a practical introduction to negotiating licensing agreements and is designed to address the needs and concerns of non-specialists. Focusing on the identification, acquisition and transfer, through licensing agreements, of intellectual property, it addresses negotiating techniques for licensing contracts and explains in clear, concise terms a number of basic rules, common issues and legal concerns associated with the negotiating process. You can buy it from the WIPO bookshop or from the ITC website.

The IPKat says "I can't endorse this publication till I've seen it. WIPO publications of this nature have to be quite general because they can't deal with licensing in the light of the legal and economic background of every WIPO Member State, but they do at least generally point at enough of the main issues to be of assistance, especially to first-timers and those who need that guidance most".