Get the weekly research letter
Companies change their terms quietly. We read every version and catch what actually changed. One email a week on the changes that matter and what they mean. No account.
Provider holds an exclusive one-year option to purchase full ownership of any patentable content submitted to the site for a fixed sum of $1,000 USD or equivalent value in kind, at Provider's sole discretion.
This analysis describes what LexisNexis's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This provision establishes a unilateral option mechanism by which Provider may acquire full intellectual property ownership of patentable user submissions at a predetermined, fixed consideration. The adequacy of $1,000 USD as consideration for a patent or patentable invention may be subject to challenge under applicable contract and IP law, depending on jurisdiction and the commercial value of the submission.
Interpretive note: The enforceability of this option at $1,000 fixed consideration may depend on jurisdiction-specific adequacy of consideration doctrine and whether the clause survives scrutiny as a standalone IP assignment mechanism embedded in website terms.
Under section 4.6, submitting patentable content to the LexisNexis website triggers a one-year exclusive purchase option held by Provider, which, if exercised, obligates the submitter to transfer full ownership of that content for $1,000 USD or a value-in-kind equivalent determined by Provider.
Cross-platform context
See how other platforms handle Exclusive Option to Purchase Patentable Submissions and similar clauses.
Compare across platforms →Monitoring
LexisNexis has changed this document before.
Receive same-day alerts, structured change summaries, and monitoring for up to 25 platforms.
"Provider shall have the exclusive option to purchase from you and acquire all right, title and interest in any Postings containing patentable subject-matter that you submit to this Web Site. The option shall be exercisable by Provider from the date you submit such Posting until one year from that date. If Provider exercises its option under this section 4.6. you agree to accept payment in the amount of $1,000.00 USD or value in kind at Provider's discretion as full and sufficient consideration for such purchase, and you agree to execute, acknowledge and deliver any and all instruments required to transfer legal ownership of Postings to Provider.Excerpt from LexisNexis's Terms
1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision engages patent law under 35 U.S.C. and general contract law principles governing adequacy of consideration. The FTC's authority over unfair and deceptive commercial practices may be relevant if the option mechanism is not clearly disclosed to users at the point of submission. For institutional users, this provision may interact with employment agreements and work-for-hire doctrines under the Copyright Act and patent law if submitted content was developed within the scope of employment. 2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: High. The combination of a fixed $1,000 USD consideration, a unilateral exercise right, and an obligation to execute transfer instruments creates significant IP exposure for users who inadvertently submit patentable content. The enforceability of this option at the stated consideration may vary by jurisdiction, particularly where a court finds the consideration inadequate relative to the commercial value of the patent. 3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: Enforceability of this clause at the stated fixed consideration may face challenge in jurisdictions that apply heightened scrutiny to IP assignment clauses with nominal consideration. Institutional users in EU jurisdictions may have additional protections under applicable employment and IP law that limit the ability to assign patent rights through web-based terms of service. 4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Enterprise procurement and IP counsel should assess whether any employees or contractors use LexisNexis Interactive Areas in ways that could expose organizationally-developed patentable concepts to this option. Vendor agreements incorporating LexisNexis terms should explicitly address ownership of content submitted to Interactive Areas. 5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Organizations should evaluate whether internal IP policies prohibit submission of potentially patentable content to third-party platforms under broad option or assignment clauses. Legal teams should assess whether the $1,000 fixed consideration clause is enforceable under the governing Ohio law and whether disclosure at the point of submission satisfies informed consent requirements.
Full institutional analysis
Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.
Monitor: same-day alerts on the platforms you choose. Analyst: full institutional analysis.
Compliance Governance Intelligence
Need to monitor specific governance provisions?
Compliance includes provision-level monitoring, governance timelines, regulatory mapping, and audit-ready analysis.
Built from archived source documents, structured governance mappings, and historical version tracking.
This provision establishes a unilateral option mechanism by which Provider may acquire full intellectual property ownership of patentable user submissions at a predetermined, fixed consideration. The adequacy of $1,000 USD as consideration for a patent or patentable invention may be subject to challenge under applicable contract and IP law, depending on jurisdiction and the commercial value of the submission.
Under section 4.6, submitting patentable content to the LexisNexis website triggers a one-year exclusive purchase option held by Provider, which, if exercised, obligates the submitter to transfer full ownership of that content for $1,000 USD or a value-in-kind equivalent determined by Provider.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by LexisNexis.