We have discussed the obligations regarding licensing earlier in the book. The most important aspect is to register your license agreements at the Trademark, Patent or Copyright Register, so that they will be opposable to third parties. Just as we did regarding employee inventions and trade secrets, we highly recommend protecting your assets and usage rights by registering your licenses and signing clear and strong contracts. It is also, of course, always a good idea to protect your brand and/or product by obtaining a patent, trademark, and/or copyright.
If you wish to give or own an exclusive license, you should sign an exclusive license agreement and register the license agreement with INAPI (in the case of patent-protected products or services or trademarked brands) or the Departamento de Derechos Intelectuales (in the case of copyrighted material).
You may also add a non-competition clause in your distribution contract, and reinforce it with a clause stating that the distributor may not operate in your commercial market for 5 or 6 years after the termination of the contract.
