Petito · Licensing
License an idea — exclusive vs non-exclusive, royalty vs lump sum.
Licensing is the modern alternative to selling intellectual property outright: you keep ownership, the licensee pays for the right to use the documented concept, and a non-exclusive structure lets you license the same material to multiple buyers in parallel. This page is the honest map of how licensing actually works in Sweden in 2026.
- Exclusive and non-exclusive contracts
- Royalty, lump sum or hybrid models
- Digital signing inside the platform
Exclusivity
Exclusive vs non-exclusive — pick by sector.
Exclusive: one licensee gets the rights, you cannot license to anyone else (sometimes not even use it yourself). Pricing is higher, the relationship is deeper, the licensee invests heavily. Non-exclusive: license to multiple buyers in parallel — better for software, templates, methods and business processes. Weaker for hardware or pharma where the licensee needs market exclusivity to justify capital investment.
Compensation
Royalty vs lump sum vs hybrid.
Royalty (typically 3–15% of revenue) aligns both parties and pays out over time, but requires trust in the licensee's reporting. Lump sum gives you cash now but caps your upside. Hybrid (smaller lump sum + lower royalty) is the most common modern structure — it covers the licensee's due diligence cost while keeping skin in the game on both sides. Software licensing typically lands around 5–10% royalty.
Contract anatomy
Eight clauses every licensing contract needs.
Scope (what is licensed, in what form). Territory (geographic limits). Exclusivity (yes/no, sub-licensing allowed?). Term (years and renewal). Compensation (royalty rate, lump sum, minimums). Reporting and audit rights. Termination conditions (breach, performance milestones). IP attribution and confidentiality. Skip any and you have an unenforceable handshake.
What Petito does
Marketplace plus contract layer.
Petito handles the full licensing flow: the marketplace surfaces qualified buyers for your documented concept, the contract layer drafts standard Swedish/EU-compliant exclusive or non-exclusive templates, all parties sign digitally, and Petito takes a transparent percentage only when a deal closes. No upfront fees, no monthly plan.
Continue
List a concept for licensing.
Petito is the Swedish marketplace for documented, timestamped ideas — with built-in licensing contracts. Free to document and list; transparent percentage only on closed deals.
Frequently asked
Licensing an idea — FAQ.
What does it mean to license an idea?+
Giving another party the right to use a documented concept — typically for a royalty, lump sum or equity share — while keeping underlying ownership. Unlike a full sale, a license is time-limited, scope-limited and revocable. In Sweden, a licensing contract is regular contract law (avtalsrätt) and does not require a patent.
Exclusive vs non-exclusive license — which should you pick?+
Exclusive: one licensee, higher price, deeper relationship — works for products needing capital investment from the licensee. Non-exclusive: multiple parallel licenses, lower price each but recurring volume — better for software, templates, methods and processes.
Royalty vs lump sum — what's the right model?+
Royalty (3–15% revenue) aligns both parties over time but requires trust in reporting. Lump sum gives cash now but caps upside. Hybrid (smaller lump sum + lower royalty) is the modern default — covers due diligence cost while keeping skin in the game on both sides.
What must a licensing contract contain?+
Eight clauses: scope, territory, exclusivity, term, compensation, reporting and audit rights, termination conditions, IP attribution and confidentiality. Skip any and you have an unenforceable handshake.
Do you need a patent to license an idea?+
No. A patent gives a stronger legal monopoly, but you can license documented concepts, code, methods, templates and trade secrets without one — as long as the licensee values the documentation, the relationship or the time-to-market advantage. Petito's on-chain timestamping serves as authorship proof in lieu of a patent for most software, content and process licensing.
How does Petito handle licensing?+
Marketplace for matching, standard exclusive/non-exclusive templates with the royalty/lump-sum split you choose, digital signing inside the platform, transparent percentage only when a deal closes. No upfront fees, no monthly plan.