Licensing Library
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
22 articles in this category.
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
What Inventors Don't Understand About Negotiating Licensing Agreements
Negotiations begin very early on in the process of licensing an invention/idea. Most people are confused about this. They believe negotiations for a deal get underway only after a company expresses interest in licensing their product. No -- not at...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
What Inventors Need To Negotiate With The Largest Companies On Earth
How can an individual entrepreneur or inventor negotiate against much larger companies? Overall, by staying one step ahead. Actually, by being more than one step ahead — try for five or six steps ahead at least! You must take advantage...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
How to Get a Higher Royalty Rate For Your Invention
Have an idea for a new product? Early on, spend some time determining what your strategy for bringing it to market will be. Is venturing required, or can you license it instead Personally, after venturing uniquely shaped guitar picks geared...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
Why Having a Performance Clause is More Critical Than Your Royalty Rate
When licensing your product idea to a company, there are many things to consider. One very important aspect is some type of performance clause. If you license the rights to manufacture and sell your concept to a company and for...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
Use This Simple Quality Control Clause to Protect Your Idea
Speed to market is more important than ever but even so, product development takes time. Typically, there are manufacturing obstacles to overcome. When you venture an idea on your own, the responsibility of resolving said issues falls squarely on your...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
Use This Simple Strategy to Ensure Your Deal Gets Done
In my experience, companies want to work with people who are helpful, responsible, and pleasant. I mean, on the one hand, who doesn't? But if you're an independent product developer who wants to bring your ideas for new products to...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
When Potential Licensees Are Interested, They Ask These Questions: How to Prepare.
Early on in my career as a product developer, I decided to focus on licensing my ideas rather than trying to bring them to market myself. My motivation was simple: I thought I could improve existing products. And that if...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
Before You Move to a Licensing Contract, Establish a Term Sheet
In many industries when two parties are beginning to work out an agreement, it's standard practice to agree to some basic terms before moving forward with a contract. Why? If you don't share the same perspective on big-picture issues --...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
Without This Clause, Your Rights to Your Invention Are at Risk
If you've been following my columns about how to license your product ideas for passive income , you know I believe in the power of self-education. You can't depend on others to do the work for you . You need...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
How to Make Sure Your Licensee Is Paying You What You’re Due
One of the questions I receive most about licensing is, "But how will I know my licensee is paying me enough?" It's a valid question. Good partnerships are built on trust, and licensing is really about finding the right partner...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
Looking for a Surefire Way to Ruin a Licensing Deal? Bring in a Lawyer
When I opened my email a few weeks ago on a Saturday morning, I came across a panicky message from one of my inventRight students asking me to review his licensing agreement. It was truly amazing -- the most thorough...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
6 Qualities to Embrace During Licensing Contract Negotiations
I get the sense most people do not like to negotiate. Maybe it's the uncertainty of it all. Maybe it's the discomfort of having to ask for something. I look at negotiations a little differently. The way I see it,...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
How Being Reasonable Helps Protect Your Product Ideas
There's an article in the February issue of this magazine that so perfectly captures why I believe it is crucial not to give anyone reason to work around you, I had to write about it. Every inventor's worst fear is...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
How to Tell What Your Invention is Worth
As a business model, licensing has always appealed to me. I enjoy being creative. I like working with my hands. If one of my inventions delighted a consumer, if it brought a smile to their face -- I felt like...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
How to License Your Idea to More Than One Company
Product ideas with huge market potential are few and far between. That doesn't stop inventors from dreaming about them though. How could it? What if the market is so big, we wonder, that not one but two companies will want...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
What to Do When Two Companies Want to License Your Idea
Licensing is a numbers game. I can't say that often enough. It's one thing to come up with an idea. But if you want to live the licensing lifestyle, you really have to commit to inventing and submitting many ideas...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
5 Ways to Make Sure Your Licensing Deal Gets Done
One of my students emailed me recently to relay a disappointing story. He'd come up with an idea and pitched it to companies he thought might want to license it. One company called him back right away to tell him...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
How to Negotiate a Licensing Agreement Like a Pro
Negotiating a licensing agreement takes time--more time than you will want it to. Every deal is unique, but in my experience, the negotiation process is largely the same. If you're an independent product developer, you may feel like you're at...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
How to Get the Upper Hand in a Royalty Dispute
Licensing agreements are living documents that can change over time. Unfortunately, that's easy to lose sight of. After all, you worked hard to get an agreement in place. You spent weeks if not months hammering out every aspect of your...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
8 Reasons Why Licensing Agreements Fail
Congratulations! A company wants to license your idea. That's fantastic. You are one step closer to living the licensing lifestyle. Don't get too excited though, because you're not done yet. There are so many issues that need to be worked...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
How to Negotiate So That Everyone Wins
Learning how to negotiate well is crucial for your success as an entrepreneur. It’s a skill -- like any other -- that can be improved with practice. Remember: If a deal is too one-sided, it won’t work out in the...
Negotiating Licensing Agreements
9 Tips to Negotiate a Contract Like a Boss
There are some things in life that people only seem to learn how to do the hard way. I think negotiating contracts is one of them. It’s an emotionally fraught process! I get that. Because I encounter so many people...
