Geographical Scope and Exclusivity of the License
When defining the geographical territory, in which the license is valid, in the license agreement, it should be done precisely and made country-specific. For example, a reference to Northern Europe is too ambiguous. It is more certain to define the territory by individually listing all countries within the scope of the license, such as Finland, Sweden, Norway etc. Even a country-specific definition may sometimes be too vague. For example, if the country in question is the USA, it might be more certain to individually list the states within the scope of the license.
Licenses can be divided into the following categories, depending on the degree of exclusivity of the license:
Exclusive licenses
Sole or semi-exclusive licenses
Non-exclusive licenses
In an exclusive license, the licensor relinquishes its rights of utilization within the territory specified in the agreement. In addition, the licensor is prohibited from licensing to third parties within the said territory. By granting a sole or semi-exclusive license, the licensor retains its rights of utilization, but agrees not to grant further licenses to third parties. In non-exclusive licenses the licensor retains both its full rights of utilization and the right to grant further licenses. The legal effects are, however, determined on the basis of the parties’ intentions, rather than the title assigned to the license. Therefore, in addition to the title, it is important to consider what the parties actually intended to agree in the agreement in the question.