The contract under which the owner of an intellectual property right (‘licensor’) gives permission to another individual or entity (‘licensee’) to use this right for a period of time and within a defined territory. Without such permission, this use would infringe patent or trademark rights. Therefore the license can allow the licensee to legitimately use, sell, offer to sell, and import the invention protected by intellectual property rights (in this case, by patent). In return, in the majority of cases, the licensor receives royalty payments. Signing a license agreement does not transfer the ownership of the invention to the licensee.