sub·li·cense
ˌsəb-ˈlī-sᵊn(t)s 
variants
US sublicense
or chiefly British sublicence
plural sublicenses
: a subordinate license granted to another by one already having a license
Universities often work to breed products especially suited to their state's agricultural needs. When they develop appropriate products, they'll seek plant variety protection (similar to a patent) through the federal government, then maintain the purity of that product by selling it to a company with a sublicense for the seed. In turn, they receive royalties …—
Carla Joinson
Carla Joinson
variants
US sublicense
or British sublicence
sublicensed; sublicensing
: to grant a sublicense for (something)
The company plans to incorporate the system into a demonstration facility for recycling vehicles and will sublicense the … technology to automobile shredders worldwide.—John DeGaspari
John DeGaspariExamples of sublicense in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Dade Hayes, Deadline, 9 Feb. 2025
The registered trademark Linux is used pursuant to a sublicense from the Linux Foundation, the exclusive licensee of Linus Torvalds, owner of the mark on a worldwide basis.
—IEEE Spectrum, 19 Dec. 2024
The multiyear deal, which runs through the 2026-27 season, is through a sublicense agreement with ESPN.
—Sportico Staff, Sportico.com, 27 Sep. 2024
Earlier this year, a sublicense was issued for a Fred Segal Home furniture and accessories showroom at the HD Buttercup Design Center in Culver City, Calif.
—Deborah Belgum, WWD, 31 July 2024
Royalty payments of approximately $2.5 million were received from our sublicense with Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd in the year ended December 31, 2023, representing an approximate 48.8% increase over the same period in 2022.
—Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2024
More than fifty companies around the world have already contacted the Patent Pool to obtain a sublicense to produce the drug, and the Gates Foundation has pledged a hundred and twenty million dollars to support generic-drug makers.
—Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2021
Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 11 June 2025
Additionally, the group has also been sublicensing high-profile games from ESPN/ABC.
—John Cassillo, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
The tournament will be broadcast on DAZN, with sublicensing agreements in place for other countries, including Channel 5 in the United Kingdom.
—Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 8 May 2025
Looking at the tournament to date, there were four opening round games, two each airing on ESPN and TNT Sports (which was sublicensed from ESPN).
—Brad Adgate, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
Sometime in the second quarter of the SMU-Penn State game, which kicks off at noon ET on TNT (sublicensed from Disney for a hefty sum), NBC will counter with a matchup between the 9-5 Texans and the 13-1 Chiefs.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 20 Dec. 2024
The most logical pairing is Amazon and Rogers, which already sublicensed its Monday night games to Amazon Prime Video in a deal struck earlier this year.
—Alex Sherman, CNBC, 21 Nov. 2024
YouTube creators who want to license their data will enter into a contract with Calliope, which will then sublicense their work out for training generative AI foundational models.
—Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 30 Sep. 2024
Its terms of service explicitly state that the company also perpetually and irrevocably owns the copyright licenses to reproduce, sublicense and distribute any works created through its software and has the right to distribute any content that is put into the system.
—Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes, 28 Sep. 2024
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Noun
In an unusual move, Fox Deportes and Telemundo are sharing rights via a sublicense deal.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 9 Feb. 2025
The registered trademark Linux is used pursuant to a sublicense from the Linux Foundation, the exclusive licensee of Linus Torvalds, owner of the mark on a worldwide basis.
—IEEE Spectrum, 19 Dec. 2024
The multiyear deal, which runs through the 2026-27 season, is through a sublicense agreement with ESPN.
—Sportico Staff, Sportico.com, 27 Sep. 2024
Earlier this year, a sublicense was issued for a Fred Segal Home furniture and accessories showroom at the HD Buttercup Design Center in Culver City, Calif.
—Deborah Belgum, WWD, 31 July 2024
Royalty payments of approximately $2.5 million were received from our sublicense with Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd in the year ended December 31, 2023, representing an approximate 48.8% increase over the same period in 2022.
—Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2024
More than fifty companies around the world have already contacted the Patent Pool to obtain a sublicense to produce the drug, and the Gates Foundation has pledged a hundred and twenty million dollars to support generic-drug makers.
—Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2021
Verb
Baked into the agreement with FIFA was the power to sublicense to regional markets, clawing back some of the initial investment.
—Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 11 June 2025
Additionally, the group has also been sublicensing high-profile games from ESPN/ABC.
—John Cassillo, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
The tournament will be broadcast on DAZN, with sublicensing agreements in place for other countries, including Channel 5 in the United Kingdom.
—Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 8 May 2025
Looking at the tournament to date, there were four opening round games, two each airing on ESPN and TNT Sports (which was sublicensed from ESPN).
—Brad Adgate, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
Sometime in the second quarter of the SMU-Penn State game, which kicks off at noon ET on TNT (sublicensed from Disney for a hefty sum), NBC will counter with a matchup between the 9-5 Texans and the 13-1 Chiefs.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 20 Dec. 2024
The most logical pairing is Amazon and Rogers, which already sublicensed its Monday night games to Amazon Prime Video in a deal struck earlier this year.
—Alex Sherman, CNBC, 21 Nov. 2024
YouTube creators who want to license their data will enter into a contract with Calliope, which will then sublicense their work out for training generative AI foundational models.
—Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 30 Sep. 2024
Its terms of service explicitly state that the company also perpetually and irrevocably owns the copyright licenses to reproduce, sublicense and distribute any works created through its software and has the right to distribute any content that is put into the system.
—Rashi Shrivastava, Forbes, 28 Sep. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Sublicense.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sublicense. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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