However, if the commercialization strategy is to license the formulation to others for manufacturing and sales, it may be prudent, and at times necessary, to file for
a patent as the licensees may request that applications be filed for protection.
It offers an oppor - tunity to study systematically the interaction of several copyright issues: including the rights (or lack thereof) of exclusive
licensees as plaintiffs in parallel import situations, the distinction between exclusive
licensees and assignees, the nature of works of authorship, the characteristics of copy - right infringement, the status of copyrightable works when used
as trade - marked logos, the limits (if any) of concurrent copyright and trade - mark protection, and even the distinction between trade - mark, copyright, and
patent as autonomous yet related legal regimes.
DPL
patent holders must offer a nonexclusive, royalty - free license for any
patent they own to anyone who requests one,
as long
as the
licensee agrees not to sue the licensor or any other member of the DPL community for
patent infringement.