If you are negotiating a licensing agreement, defending your rights under an existing license, or trying to monetize intellectual property you’ve worked hard to develop, the stakes are real, and the details matter enormously. A poorly drafted license can strip you of rights you never intended to give up, leave money on the table, or expose you to disputes that could have been avoided entirely.
At COFFYLAW, LLC, our attorneys bring over 80 years of combined experience in intellectual property and licensing law to clients throughout the New York City metro area. We offer free consultations, and we’re committed to protecting what you’ve built. Contact our New York City, NY licensing lawyer today to get started.
Licensing sits at the intersection of contract law and intellectual property, and you need attorneys who understand both. Our intellectual property lawyer in New York City, NY covers the full spectrum of IP, from patents and trademarks to copyrights, trade secrets, and beyond. When our attorneys review or draft a licensing agreement, they’re not just checking contract language. They’re thinking about what rights are at stake, how infringement could occur, and where disputes tend to arise.
Emmanuel Coffy, the firm’s founding attorney, is a registered Patent Attorney and former USPTO Patent Examiner. His background spans patent prosecution, enforcement, IP strategy, licensing, trademark, trade secret, and copyright matters. That dual foundation of engineering and law gives him an uncommon ability to evaluate the technical dimensions of a licensing matter, not just the legal ones.
He holds a J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Florida Institute of Technology, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, and the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Some general practice firms handle licensing occasionally. For us, it sits at the core of our intellectual property practice. We’ve worked on patent licensing choices across industries, advised on patent pooling and cross-licensing arrangements, and navigated FRAND licensing issues for standard essential patents. That depth translates directly into better outcomes for clients entering or disputing licensing relationships.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “CoffyLaw is a top law firm providing service at a fair price. What I liked most about working with CoffyLaw is their experience being employed at the Patent Office in the past. Thanks to CoffyLaw my business made money. Keep up the good work” — Darrell
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Our firm handles a broad range of licensing matters for individuals, startups, and established companies. Whether you’re entering a new licensing relationship or managing one that’s gone sideways, we have handled the scenarios that come up most often in practice.
Licensing in New York operates under a combination of state statutes, federal IP law, and administrative regulations depending on the type of license at issue.
For professional licensing, the New York State Education Department’s Office of the Professions administers licensing for dozens of regulated fields. Under New York Education Law Article 130, practitioners must meet education, examination, and continuing education requirements, and violations can result in suspension or revocation. Similarly, contractors and tradespeople fall under the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Buildings and the New York State Department of Labor, which enforce separate licensing requirements.
For intellectual property licensing, federal law governs the enforceability of patent licenses under 35 U.S.C. § 261, which allows patents and applications to be assigned or licensed. Copyright licenses are governed by the Copyright Act at 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq., and New York courts have been particularly active in interpreting these agreements in commercial licensing disputes.
Why does this matter for your case? Because a license that satisfies federal requirements may still run into problems under New York contract law, especially around issues like breaches, termination rights, and damages. Getting the structure right from the beginning is far less costly than litigating it later.
This is where most disputes start. What did the licensee actually receive the right to do? Exclusive or non-exclusive? Limited to a specific territory, field of use, or time period? Ambiguous scope language is litigation waiting to happen. Our licensing attorney in New York City reviews these provisions carefully and, where we’re drafting, writes them to eliminate ambiguity.
Flat fees, percentage royalties, minimum guaranteed payments, sublicensing fees—the structure of compensation varies widely, and each approach carries different risk profiles. Courts have addressed how royalty rates are calculated for essential patents, and those principles apply in commercial licensing contexts too. We make sure payment terms are enforceable and clearly defined.
What happens if the licensee fails to perform? What triggers the licensor’s right to terminate — and does the agreement allow cure periods? These provisions protect both sides. Without clear termination language, parties often end up in court arguing over whether a breach was material enough to justify ending the agreement.
Who bears the risk if a third party claims the licensed IP infringes their rights? Indemnification clauses answer that question, but only if they’re drafted carefully. A licensee who discovers mid-deal that the IP they licensed is subject to a prior claim needs to know upfront who will defend and who will pay.
Can the licensee sublicense to others? Can they assign the agreement if their company is acquired? These provisions have major implications in M&A transactions and joint ventures. We’ve worked on issues at the intersection of licensing and mergers and acquisitions, and we understand how to structure these provisions to protect our clients regardless of which side of the deal they’re on.
Whether you need a licensing attorney in New York City to draft an agreement from scratch, review a deal before you sign, or defend your rights in a dispute that’s already underway, at COFFYLAW, LLC we’re ready to help.
Free consultations are available, and we’ll give you a straight assessment of where things stand and what your options are. No runaround. Just a direct conversation with attorneys who handle these issues every day.
Visit our contact page or schedule a consultation to get started.
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