Patent license or license agreement is a contract containing a resolution of the patent belongs to him to use an invention (utility model, industrial design) to another person. Under the license agreement the patent owner (licensor) shall grant the right to use the protected invention, utility model and industrial design to the extent specified in the contract to another person (the licensee), and the latter undertakes to pay the licensor arising from the contract payments and (or) perform other actions under the contract.
An exclusive license the licensee the right to use the invention, utility model or industrial design within the limits specified by the contract, while retaining the licensor of the right to use it in the part not transferred to the licensee, with a non-exclusive license, the licensor, while granting the licensee the right to use the invention or utility model or industrial design, retains all rights, the patent, including the right to grant licenses to third parties.
To prevent abuse of patent rights, in particular, non-use or insufficient use of patent inventions, leading to inadequate supply of related goods or restrict the ability of the dependent patent, that is when the patentee can not use the invention for which he has the exclusive right, without violating the rights of the owner of another patent can be issued a compulsory license, transferring the right to use the invention to any third party or organization without the consent of the copyright holder.