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The Money Making Power of Licensing
April 2012 Issue
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Greetings!
Welcome to the April issue of Licensing4Profits. This month we review the importance of developing a concise IP profile before your start the licensing process. Negotiating the licensing deal the right way creates the foundation for a profitable partnership, and in this months IP Leverage article we review 10 tips for negotiating a licensing agreement. Join me for my next webinar, IP Value Part 3 - 7 Value Building Action Steps on Tuesday April 17th, and learn how to create value and attract potential licensees. In this issue find out what the piano, Worchestershire Sauce and White Christmas have in common in This Month in IP History. In our next article, The Negotiating Checklist, we take a look some terms to include when the licensor needs to consult with the licensee on the transfer of other information about the intellectual property. And we conclude with this month's licensing question, "I am not familiar with licensing as a money making opportunity and was wondering if licensing can be done anywhere in the world?"
Enjoy!
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Strategy Session- Available for Licensing: Creating an IP Licensing Profile
 Are you ready to begin licensing your IP? If so, you should have a concise IP Profile that provides all the key details about your intellectual property and the licensing opportunity. The key word is concise. Think of it like a resume. The IP profile is an introduction to potential licensees, and they do not have or will take the time to read the entire history of your IP. Here's a quick format for preparing a Licensing Profile: (Ex: This IP Profile is intended to inform that the patent for PRODUCT X is available for licensing.)- Background - Explain the basic benefits of the product.
- Milestones - What milestones have already been reached by the product, including patent status, working prototypes, current sales activity and where the product is being sold or distributed.
- History - A BRIEF history of the product, providing a short explanation of the companies or people involved.
- Product - Details including additional functions and any market research that supports the licensing opportunity.
- Customers - Who are the customers and why they buy the product.
- Licensing - General information about licensing the IP rights such as exclusivity, territories, etc.
Make sure the IP Profile looks professional and has the correct contact information including your name, telephone, email address and website. Be sure to add a page to your website titled Licensing or Available for Licensing. |
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Leveraging IP - Ten Tips for Negotiating a Licensing Agreement
 Negotiating the licensing deal is where the rubber meets the road. Do it right, and it creates a profitable partnership. Last month, I started a new series of webinars titled Inside the Conference Room. One of these upcoming webinars is Negotiating the Legal Terms of the Licensing Agreement. Andrew Berger, an intellectual property attorney with the New York firm of Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP, was my guest and shared some of his great expertise and insight on how to negotiate the licensing agreement. During the webinar, we discussed a list of 10 tips that you should keep in mind when negotiating a licensing agreement (Andrew provided this list on his blog which is detailed below). - The license agreement must be a win-win for both sides or it will not work.
- The more you don't need to do the deal the more leverage you have when negotiating it.
- If your sales channel is the Internet you have global rights.
- Givers get; if you give exclusivity, you should get a higher royalty.
- Don't enter into a license without an exit strategy.
- There is no one magic royalty number whatever the deal.
- Set a royalty by looking at what licensees are paying in comparable deals.
- The term of the license should allow the licensee a reasonable time to recoup their investment in the deal.
- Negotiate with respect to build trust.
- Take your time so that the license agreement creates a long-term, mutually-beneficial relationship.
This webinar will be available later this month. In the meantime, check out Andrew's blog at http://www.ipinbrief.com/. You'll find more information about Andrew's areas of expertise and it's a great resource for learning about the legal side of licensing. You can contact Andrew by email at andrew@ipinbrief.com. |
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Licensing creates wealth and can be lucrative for all types: creative people who provide the ideas, business people who promote the ideas and bring products to market, and agents who spot new opportunities and act on them!
Feel free to pass this newsletter along to friends and associates. You can visit www.licensingcg.com to view other free reports and presentations. If you are interested in learning about our consulting services and coaching programs, please contact us at (646) 395-9572 or email info@licensingcg.com.
Best Regards,
Rand Brenner
President & CEO
Licensing Consulting Group
About Rand Brenner
Rand has licensed some of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters, including "Batman" and the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers", both of which generated billions of dollars in worldwide merchandise sales. His career included executive positions at Saban Entertainment and Warner Bros Consumer Products where he developed numerous licensing and promotional deals with Fortune 1000 companies.
Consulting Services
Rand Brenner is the President & CEO of Licensing Consulting Group, a full service intellectual property management company. LCG provides IP management, strategy consulting, and property representation. Click here for more information about his consulting services.
Audio Workshops Audio workshops that teach you the proven methods, systems and processes to transform intellectual properties into multimillion dollar licensing deals. Workshop series includes Introduction to Licensing, Licensing Mastery Wealth Creation System, License Your Expertise, Licensing Leverage Business Income Accelerator, and University IP Billion Dollar Opportunity. Licensing Success Coaching Program Monthly group tele-coaching sessions providing Rand's expertise and experience to guide you in your licensing activities. With proven methods for maximizing IP cash flow and leveraging your licensing options, the Licensing Success Coaching Program will give you the tools and confidence you need to succeed in licensing your intellectual property! Click here for more information. Speaking
Rand's speaking style is vibrant, humor-laden,
energetic, and personal. Rand covers licensing from the 10,000 feet level all the way down to the step-by-step, depending on audience and need. Engaged audiences consistently give him some of the highest ratings, commenting on the quality and their ability to take action on the information. He has presented to entrepreneurial organizations, trade associations, investor groups, entrepreneurs, students, marketers, inventors and entertainment companies.
For more information, please visit our website or send an email to info@licensingcg.com.
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Video Licensing Lesson - Licensing Strategies Part 3  | |
Licensing in Multiple Markets
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Join Our Mailing List!
Sign up for our newsletter and download a free copy of Introduction to Licensing Part 1: Making Money with Intellectual Property.
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Events of Interest - May 2012
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Webinar Events
IP Value Part 3 - 7 Value Building Action Steps
Date: Tue. Apr. 17, 2012,
Time: 5PM Pacific / 8PM Eastern "What's the value of my IP?" That depends on what you have done to develop your intellectual property. This webinar will discuss the 7 Key Value Building Action Steps that will attract licensing partners for your Intellectual property.
Click here to register.
You'll learn why each of these steps is important and what actions you should do at each stage. The more you can build the value of your intellectual property, the greater its money making potential, and the more attractive your IP will be to licensing partners.
Register Now.
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This Month in IP History... - 1796 James McLean was issued a patent for a piano.
- 1892 Lea & Perrins Worchestershire Sauce became a registered trademark.
- 1942 "White Christmas" registered by Irving Berlin. This song is said to be the most valuable music copyright in the world!
world! Source: About.com |
Negotiating Checklist - Transferring Other IP Rights 
Sometimes licensing an intellectual property requires more than just the commercialization rights. Depending on the IP, such as technology, the licensor (i.e. IP owner) may be required to consult with the licensee to transfer know-how of marketing or manufacturing processes to the licensee.
Following are some key terms for defining how long and at what cost the licensor would provide consulting services to the licensee:
- Licensor shall provide (technical expertise / personnel) to deliver Intellectual Property/Tangible Property
- At Licensor's expense / At Licensee's expense
- Not more than X persons for not more than X days
- At a fee which shall be the salary/month retainer, plus X percent
- Travel expenses / living expenses paid by Licensor/paid by Licensee
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Licensing Leverage - The Small Business Income AcceleratorInterested in learning more about using licensing to increase sales or expand into new markets? Check out the audio workshop, Licensing Leverage: The Small Business Income Accelerator. This 2 hour workshop details how to use your company IP to develop more revenue opportunities, attract new customers, and create a stronger competitive position. Click here for more information and to order product. Newsletter subscribers receive a 25% discount on their order. Enter discount code 715T7804.
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Ask Rand Brenner
Q. I am not familiar with licensing as a money making opportunity and was wondering if licensing can be done anywhere in the world?
A. Yes. Licensing is a global business. That is one of the biggest opportunities for licensing and one that is often overlooked by small and midsize businesses. There are a number of treaties and agreements between the US and other countries that enable IP owners to secure IP registration rights around the world. Most licensing agreements are similar in content, and I have done many international deals using agreements created in the US. One of the best licensing tools is the internet, which lets you connect with IP owners and licensing partners around the world.
Got a question about licensing? Send an email to askrandbrenner@ licensing4profits.com. You'll get an answer to your question which will be included in a future issue of this newsletter.
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The information in this newsletter is presented by Licensing Consulting Group as a service to the subscribers. Although the author attempts to keep this information current and accurate, he makes no warranty or guarantee that it is correct, complete or up-to-date. This newsletter may contain links or be linked to other web sites not maintained by Licensing Consulting Group. The author makes no representations, express or implied, with respect to the materials and information provided on any third-party web site linked to this newsletter, including any representations as to the accuracy, timeliness, reliability or completeness of any material or information on such linked site. Inclusion of a link in this newsletter to another web site does not imply recommendation, approval or endorsement by the author of the linked site.
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