Generally, a lawful grant of permission to do or use something that would otherwise not be legal or allowed.

In the context of intellectual property (IP) law, a license is a grant from the owner of an IP right (the licensor) to another entity (the licensee) permitting the licensee to use the IP in certain ways, for example, to distribute products under the licensor's trademark or to manufacture and sell products using the licensor's patent-protected process.

For a variety of resources concerning the licensing of patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and other assets and personal rights subject to IP protections, see Intellectual Property Licensing Toolkit.