Approval process for Licensing

This is the process by which programmes of study owned by, and delivered at The University of Manchester, are made available for use by another institution or organisation for a fee, where no award is given by Manchester, and no accreditation or validation is done on behalf of Manchester.

A legal definition of licensing is; ‘the granting of permission to use intellectual property (IP) rights (such as copyright) under defined conditions.’ Licensing is different from assigning (selling). Licensing is classed by the University as commercialisation.

Licensing is ideally carried out on a non-exclusive basis, i.e. the University remains free to license the material to other parties in the future, and can continue to use the material for the University’s purposes. UMIP (the University’s managing agent to advise on and facilitate the protection and commercialisation of IP) must be contacted and they will advise and assist with this.

It is important that the relevant Head of School is notified of the proposed licensing arrangement who should then notify the Dean of Faculty as appropriate. In addition, necessary checks and records should be made regarding:-

ownership of intellectual property (usually copyright & related rights) in the teaching material, including third party contributions. Ownership positions include; sole University ownership, joint ownership with a third party, or sole ownership by a third party.
any restrictions on use of the teaching material in commercialisation, arising from funding used to create it, and the funder’s related funding policies.

It is important to make these checks and take necessary action (see note below on obtaining permissions) to avoid possibility of a claim for infringement of rights, or breach of funding contract, against the University in the future. Once these checks have been made and the Head of School and Dean is satisfied and given the proposal full support, the following must then be done:

Prepare an outline project plan, and forward a copy of this to the Teaching & Learning Officer (Collaborations), Teaching and Learning Delivery. The TLD will check that the proposed arrangement satisfies requirements to safeguard the University’s interests, as well as academic standards and that licensing is indeed appropriate.
Should the proposed licence partner be based overseas, you must also contact the Director of International Development to start the process of vetting of the proposed licence partner.
Start the process of obtaining permissions or licences, for commercial use of copyright or other IP contained in the teaching material, which is owned by 3^rd party contributors. It is useful in preparation of your request to a copyright owner, agent or publisher, to set out the intended uses of the teaching material. UMIP should be contacted to assist with this process.
In ongoing negotiations with the proposed licensee, it is essential to keep records of all communications, and do not promise terms of the arrangement until; advice has been taken, IP position has been checked and rights to use IP secured (as appropriate), partners have been vetted, and go-ahead has been obtained from school and faculty as appropriate. Again, UMIP should be contacted to assist with advice in this regard and formulation of licence terms.
The licence agreement should be drawn up with the assistance of UMIP and(or) the University Contracts Team. The licence should set out how the licensee institution will use the teaching material, and any restrictions on its use.
The University requires at least the following provisions to be met in the licence arrangement:
- satisfactory description of the course in advertising and appropriate crediting of the University, ensuring no mention is made of the course being ‘delivered by The University of Manchester’, or of validation or accreditation (unless the partner has undertaken accreditation on their own behalf)
- language provision in the licensee organisation is adequate for the course to be delivered effectively
- at least twice yearly checks by University of Manchester employees are made on how the licensed programme is progressing, and any resulting problems flagged up and addressed.

Access to University of Manchester websites and online resources are not allowed and will not be offered as students will not be registered with the University and copyright material for University use only may be breached.