Licensing Library
Open Innovation
19 articles in this category.
Open Innovation
What Open Innovation Companies Are Really Looking For From Inventors
For the past six months, I've been interviewing dozens of companies that are open to working with independent inventors to develop new products. This is what's known as open innovation, which takes many forms. In total, nearly 30 experts across...
Open Innovation
A Former Product Manager Pulls Back the Curtain On Open Innovation
As a product artist , one side of the licensing business model I have always loved learning about is what goes on behind the scenes. How are new product idea submissions evaluated? What are companies practicing open innovation really looking...
Open Innovation
Where Big Money Is Made Licensing Product Ideas
Industries are not equal in terms of generating royalties for product ideas. "Where is the big money in licensing being made?" is a question I get asked all the time. I get it. You could end up spending quite a...
Open Innovation
How Novelty Gift Company Kikkerland Gets Open Innovation Right
Do you like to create products that make people smile? Consider designing for the novelty gift industry. That's where I kicked off my licensing career. At the time, coming up with silly, whimsical ideas really was my sole motivation. These...
Open Innovation
How to License Your Artwork Onto Products
As a creative person, I've always found the opportunity to license my ideas rather than sell them myself irresistable. Over the years, I haven't wanted to run a business so much as I've wanted to come up with new product...
Open Innovation
Top Kitchenware Provider Lifetime Brands Talks COVID-19 And Open Innovation
The cancelation and postponement of massive trade events like the international housewares show in Chicago and national hardware show in Las Vegas have resulted in many unanswered questions. At these one-of-a-kind annual meeting grounds, companies present their latest product innovations...
Open Innovation
How COVID-19 Is Impacting Open Innovation At Hasbro
One thing is for sure: It’s an uncertain time for everyone. The global outbreak of the coronavirus is impacting industries and people differently. As people stay inside, cook, and entertain themselves at home, kitchen products, home improvement products, pet products...
Open Innovation
Why Large And Powerful Companies Like Conair Embrace Open Innovation
For the past six months, I’ve been interviewing dozens of companies that practice open innovation. Specifically, in this case, meaning that they’re willing to work with independent inventors to develop new products. Among other topics, I wanted to understand their...
Open Innovation
Want Truly Great Ideas? Offer Inventors Royalties, Not Prize Money
Companies are increasingly soliciting and engaging the crowd for new ideas, but they're making a fatal mistake by offering up crumbs in exchange. For example, earlier this month, I came across The Kitchen Experience Challenge by GE Appliances. Contestants are...
Open Innovation
Good News, Inventors! Quirky Has 'Re-Invented' Itself, Pursuing Licensing Deals for Inventors
Who is capable of coming up with the next clever pet item, fun toy or must-have kitchen tool? You, potentially, if you’re so inclined. As consumers, we have power and insight. We know what we like and what we don’t...
Open Innovation
18 Reasons You Should Consider Licensing Your Product Ideas
When I took an art class on a lark in college, I discovered how much I loved being creative. Bringing my ideas to life didn't feel like work -- far from it. The experience was downright magical. If I could...
Open Innovation
'Ordinary' People Will Be Responsible for Future Creative Breakthroughs, Says This Harvard Biz School Professor
Are 'ordinary' people capable of coming up with ideas for products and services that will change the world? Yes -- and in the future, such breakthroughs may not only become more prevalent than those engineered by experts or geniuses in...
Open Innovation
4 Industries That Want to License Your Idea
Some industries have embraced open innovation more than others. I'm talking about industries that have an enormous appetite for new product ideas. Companies competing within these industries are very actively looking for your innovations because, to be frank, their success...
Open Innovation
Are Young Entrepreneurs Truly Endangered?
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the percentage of young people under 30 who own their own businesses is the lowest it has been in 24 years . Financial challenges and a "low appetite for risk" were cited as...
Open Innovation
Get in the Game: What Licensing Can Do for You
Do you have a great idea for a product or service that you’re convinced is the next big thing? You probably wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t--or at least want to. You know deep down that you’re destined to...
Open Innovation
Not Creative? Become a Product Scout
A few weeks ago, I wrote about how desperate companies are for new ideas. Open innovation is changing the game. But what if you’re not creative and don’t have any ideas? You can still take advantage of this enormous opportunity...
Open Innovation
3 Reasons to Submit an Idea to Quirky
There are more opportunities than ever before for innovators to pitch their ideas. One relatively new avenue is Quirky, a online product submission company that differentiates itself by relying on a community of influencers to help determine which ideas move...
Open Innovation
Open Innovation is Flourishing Because Creative People Want to Work For Themselves
When I explain that for many years I made a living out of licensing my product ideas to powerful companies for passive income, people are often dubious. Are companies really looking for ideas from independent inventors? Don’t they already have...
Open Innovation
In Only 4 Years, the Open Innovation Has Radically Changed. Here’s How.
Like everyone else, I discovered figuring how out to support myself doing something I truly enjoyed was going to be difficult. I knew at a young age that I needed to find something that motivated me -- something that would...
