Knowledge is typically non-excludable in that it is not possible to prevent others from applying new knowledge even without the authorization of its creator. If a new technology is valuable, it is therefore likely to be copied or imitated, reducing the potential profits of the original inventor and potentially removing the incentive to engage in innovative activities. Intellectual property rights (IPRs) encourage innovation by granting successful inventors temporary monopoly power over their innovations. The consequent monopoly profits provide the returns on successful investment in research and development (R&D), which must be large enough to compensate for the high share of R&D investment that is unsuccessful.

Intellectual property (IP) is a broad categorical description for the set of intangibles owned and legally protected by a company from outside use or implementation without consent. Intellectual property can consist of patents, trade secrets, Industrial design rights and trademarks or simply ideas.

Licensing gives permissions for the use of patent and the technology. It presents great freedom to the licensee in technology choice and the licensor to reap the profits from the technology transfer without risking any capital.

We in Xegate work to effectively commercialize technologies and developed innovations by licensing them to established companies or to start-ups, and by helping researchers to attract and build industry partners.

For innovators interested in the more entrepreneurial route of creating a new business, we can guide you through the process of creating a business plan, acquiring an option agreement, and attracting funding.

Today, almost all merchandise are manufactured under license.

Some of the largest and most famous companies in this industry have created tremendous business in this way.

However, manufacturing under license is inseparably connected with giving away the control a company would have, if they would manufacture the products by themselves. Especially successful companies in this industry have been investing a lot in controlling, investigating and litigating their licensed production partners.

According to the Centre for Retail Research, E-commerce is the fastest growing retail market in Europe. Sales in the UK, Germany, France, Sweden, The Netherlands, Italy, Poland and Spain are expected to grow from €156.28 bn in 2014 to €185.39 bn in 2015 (+18.4%), reaching €219.44 bn in 2016. In 2015, overall online sales are expected to grow by 18.4% (same as 2014), but 13.8% in the U.S. on a much larger total.

This kind of explosive retail sales growth is great news for all of us in the licensing world, as it enables brands that may not have been able to get brick and mortar retail distribution the ability to create online stores.