Commercial activities and types of contracts. Other Forms of Basic Activities. Steps to Conclude a Contract, страница 4

3) Full licences when the licensor gives the licensee the monopoly right to use the subject of the licence within the period of time specified. The licensors remain the owners of the patent and can break the licence agreement in certain circumstance at their option and can use it upon the expiration of the term of the licence agreement. But while it is in force, the licensors have no right to use it themselves or sell similar licences to other persons.

Steps to Conclude a Contract

Introduction

Concluding agreements or contracts with the counterparty is a very responsible and important work. We can point out three main stages of accomplishing a contract:

·  concluding a contract;

·  signing a contract; and

·  execution of a contract proper.

The first stage, concluding a contract, is the most important and volumetric; it comprises such steps as making an enquiry (or inquiry), offering goods for sale and placing an order to buy them.

Enquiries

An enquiry is a request for information. When starting up in business, it is necessary to find out names and addresses of potential business partners. One way of obtaining this information is to send an enquiry to one or more of the following organizations:

·  the Chamber of Commerce

·  a bank

·  another company – provided the company’s own interests are not negatively affected by giving you this information.

If you are looking for partners or suppliers abroad, you can write to the consulate of the foreign country in question. The consul’s tasks include representing the country’s economic interests abroad. Or it is also possible to write to the embassy of a foreign country. However, the task of an ambassador is mainly diplomatic and the embassy may not be able to provide much commercial information.

Once you have obtained the name and the address of a supplier, you can send them a general enquiry asking for information about the goods they supply (catalogues and price-lists). And then, you can decide whether you want to do business with this company or not.

If you need more details, provided that you already know what goods a company supplies, you can send a specific enquiry, which may include such information as terms of delivery, delivery times, terms of payment, discounts, types of packing and so on.

 One more way of obtaining offers from suppliers is to place an advertisement in newspapers or other publications. This advertisement is called an invitation to tender. Companies that are interested can submit their offers called tenders and the best company is chosen to supply the goods or services required. This method is often used by public institutions, such as government offices.

Offers

An offer (a quotation)is a statement by sellers usually in the written form expressing their wish to sell the goods. When sellers make an offer or quotation, they promise to supply their goods on the terms stated in the offer. This means that if a buyer places an order on the basis of the seller's offer, the seller must supply the goods as promised. But an offer is not a legal document, that is if the seller for this or that reason decides not to sell, the buyer has no legal remedy. Offers can be made orally or in writing, although oral offers are usually confirmed in writing to prevent disagreements. An offer as a rule includes the following information:

·  the description of the goods offered (their quality and quantity);

·  details of prices, discounts and terms of payment;