What is a Sublicense?

A sublicense is a contract that allows one party (the sublicensor) to grant permission for another party (the sublicensee) to use or exploit certain intellectual property rights that are owned by the sublicensor, but which the sublicensor does not intend to use itself.

In other words, a sublicense is a secondary license that allows the sublicensee to use the intellectual property rights that have been licensed to them by the sublicensor, but only for a specific purpose or in a specific territory. The sublicensor retains ownership of the intellectual property rights and is responsible for any obligations or liabilities related to those rights.

For example, a company may own a patent for a new technology and grant a license to another company to use that technology in a specific market. However, the first company may then grant a sublicense to a third company to use the technology in a different market or for a specific product. In this case, the first company (the sublicensor) is allowing the third company (the sublicensee) to use the intellectual property rights that they own, but only in a specific context.