Technology Licensing Process

Overview
Although the details will vary, the steps taken to conclude a license agreement with Motorola Solutions generally include:

Simple agreements such as those for application interfaces (APIs) and software development kits (SDKs) can be completed in as little as a few weeks, while more complex technology transfer agreements can take several months or more to complete (including technology evaluation and prototyping). As a prospective licensee, you are well advised to allow enough time in your market and product planning processes to negotiate and put any necessary licenses in place prior to product launch.

FRAND Requirement

Standard essential license agreements are typically required to have terms that are fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory, commonly referred to as FRAND. While there is no requirement for the terms to be identical among licensees, there is a requirement for the agreement to have similar effects for licensees in equivalent situations. Maintaining FRAND across many license agreements can pose challenges for both licensor and licensee alike.

Because licensees often have different business models, and because there is a FRAND requirement for standard essential licenses, frank and open discussions between the licensee and licensor may be needed for sensitive, confidential business metrics. Although it may be feared that confidentiality provisions in standard essential agreements (or separate confidentiality agreements) may be used to mask non-FRAND terms, confidentiality agreements actually enable the transparency needed for FRAND by protecting the information exchanged during negotiations.

Final Steps

It may take a week or more to finalize and execute the agreement, including final legal and financial review as well as signatures. Once the agreement is executed, Motorola Solutions’ audit department will contact the new licensee to discuss and handle reporting and compliance. Royalty bearing agreements usually have a quarterly reporting requirement that may be submitted by email or fax. Once the report has been received, Motorola Solutions will invoice the royalty amount, which is usually remitted by wire transfer to Motorola Solutions’ account. The wire transfer method is preferable to payment by check, which is more likely to result in late payment charges and reconciliation work due to misrouting or other unintended delays.