The Nature and Characteristics of the License Agreement and Its Compatibility with Certain Contracts in Civil Law

Abstract

The license is a contract which gives permission (privilege) to apply intellectual property, without transferring any kind of ownership. This permission is not usually given independently, but within other contracts; As Franchising, Buy- Back, and B.O.T. License types are; Exclusive, nonexclusive, voluntary, compulsory and so on. Technical knowledge is also transferred in the licensing agreements. The value of Technical knowledge, lies in its anonymity and confidentiality; so publicizing the technical knowledge violates the validity of the contract. The license is promissory, commitment and often a formal contract. Its nature does not match any of the specific contracts in Iran’s civil law. It seems that, the license is an anonymous contract, subject to Article 10 of this law. This article is an attempt to identify licensing agreement. For this purpose, first a definition of the concept is presented and then its position is explained. Then, the most important types of this agreements are briefly explained. Finally, the attributes and nature of this agreement are discussed from the perspective of Iran's rights and comparative law. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n4S1p105