Strategy Session: The IP Licensing Website

 

In the age of the internet, one of the most important tools for licensing is a webpage or website featuring the IP product, service or technology. For licensees, it's one of the first places to find information quickly about the IP. For the licensor, a website will generate qualified leads and ultimately licensing deals.

 

A licensing website can speed up the deal making process. It is an efficient way of providing all timely information about the IP which means less time will be spent updating the potential licensee about the IP. A licensing website also explains how the licensing process works, who to contact and what forms to fill out.

 

Licensing is marketing and the licensing website should be designed as a marketing communications tool. It should be created with the licensee in mind. For example, if you invented a new toy the audience would be toy manufacturers. The website should provide all the information a toy company would be interested in knowing, such as how the toy works (i.e. videos or animation), who is the target market (boys, girls, toddlers, etc) the status of any testing or sales, and what rights are available for licensing.   Include any news articles, product reviews, presentations, blogs and customers reviews.

 

A licensing summary should be created with all the important points about the IP and licensing opportunity. This summary should include the following:

• One-paragraph introduction to summarize the whole story
• Bulleted list of benefits
• Bulleted list of IP applications
• IP details section: What it is, what it does, why it is better than competitive technologies
• Supporting information: IP status, links to published information
• Call to action/contact information

Once your licensing website is up and running, social media outlets, such as Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter can play a big part in your licensing initiatives. Tweeting test results or live updates from a tradeshow is one example. Through newsletters and blogs, you can create an ongoing dialogue with and get feedback from customers or product innovators. A large fan or customer following can make your IP much more appealing to licensees.

 

Once the licensing webpage is online, monitor your feedback from visitors. Questions about more information or clarification should be updated on the webpage right away. The licensing webpage is a dynamic marketing tool, and keeping it updated with timely information is an important part of the licensing process.

Leveraging IP:

   

    

Wondering if you have IP that can be protected? If so, check out this new Intellectual Property Awareness Assessment Tool. It was created by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and National Institute of Standards and Technology. It's designed to help inventors, entrepreneuers and small businesses identify their IP assets. After completing the assessment, the tool then provides links to suggested training resources to help educate you on how to secure and manage your IP assets.   

 

The full assessment (62 questions) takes approximately 20-30 minutes. It covers 5 IP protection categories (utility patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and design patents) and five strategy and licensing categories (IP strategies and best practices, using technology of others, licensing technology to others, international IP rights, and IP asset tracking). A shorter option is the quick pre-evaluation which is five questions and takes about three minutes. Based on the pre-evaluation results, you can take a customized assessment (runs about 10-30 minutes) specific to your potential IP protection needs.

 

You'll get the results of your IP assessment (which can be printed or converted to a PDF) along with links for suggested training material.  

 

Ready to get started? Click  here. (http://www.uspto.gov/inventors/assessment/start.html)

 

Source: July 1, 2012 By  CBIA 

Video Licensing Lesson

The Key to Creating Wealth with Intellectual Property

Key Terms & Conditions - Representations & Warranties

License agreements typically contain a series of representations and warranties. IP Buyers (licensees) are usually concerned about the ownership and validity of the IP. A licensee's worst nightmare is to get caught in an IP infringement claim by another company, or to find out that the IP owner (licensor) doesn't own or have rights to the IP. Some examples of what is included in this clause are the following:

• Validity of Licensed IP
• Good title to Intellectual Property
• Authority of Licensor to enter into the License
• Authority of Licensee to enter into the License
• Standard warranty disclaimer (of use for particular purpose)

 

When preparing or reviewing a licensing agreement, it's always best to seek quailified legal advice before you sign anything.  

This Month in IP History

• 1901 - NABISCO was trademark registered.
• 1904 - Patent #775,134 was granted to King C. Gillette for a safety razor.
• 1977 - Stephen Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" was copyright registered.

Source:About.com

Ask Rand Brenner 

 

Q: Can you shed some light on licensing information products?

 

A: Many people, most often service based businesses (such as consultants, trainers, business advisors, physical trainers, nutritionists and others) have created proprietary information based on their expertise in selling or delivering their services. This expertise is "captured" in the form of books, CD's, DVD's, live seminars, and other information delivery platforms.   

 

Information based IP can be packaged and licensed into different channels, markets, and customer bases. By creating a licensable product, these IP owners can create new revenue streams by licensing other companies to market and sell these information products.    

Licensing can be done in different product formats, including eBooks, CD's and videos. In most cases, licensing the content (information product) is a much better way of expanding into unfamiliar markets or distribution channels.  

 

For the information owner, the benefits of licensing their content are increased revenues, expanding their brand, and reaching new potential customers. The main benefit to the information product licensee is proven content that can be repackaged and sold to their existing and new customers. Information can be licensed a variety of ways including reprint rights, exclusive distribution, or master resale rights.

 

 

Licensing Your Expertise: The 90 Day Cash Flow Creator. Click here to learn more. 

 

 

 

 

 

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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