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The Money Making Power of Intellectual Property
June 2013 Issue
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Greetings!
Welcome to the June issue of
Licensing4Profits. Do you need some coaching to help you identify your intellectual property assets? If so then make sure you join us on Tuesday, June 4th at 1PM Pacific /4PM Eastern for a free open coaching session with myself and co-founder Mitch Axelrod. The coaching topic will be How to Identify and Inventory Your IP. Members and guests are welcome. Click this link to sign up.
In our first article, Leveraging IP, we discuss why the education industry is undergoing rapid change, and how quality educational content as intellectual property is becoming the value point for colleges and universities.
You invented something novel? Great! Without intellectual property legal protections, your invention has little economic value. Learn how trade secrets can be used for IP protection and why they are a different animal in this month's Strategy Session article.
Find out how licensing your IP can create a bigger money making pie in this month's Video Licensing Lesson.
Included in every licensing agreement is a product liability clause, which protects the IP owner (licensor) against customers claiming injuries as a result of using the licensed product (service or technology). In our next article, Key Terms & Conditions, we review why product liability is important and what should be included in this contract clause.
Find out what a luxury automobile brand, soft cheese and a children's song all have in common in This Month in IP History.
We conclude with the licensing question "How would I approach an author and talk with them about licensing products based on their book? "
Enjoy!
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Leveraging IP: Packaging Educational Courses as Licensed Content
 Education is an industry that is undergoing rapid change, especially in the area of the Internet. Where once the institutions were the focus of the product of education, now the teachers are becoming the product of the colleges and universities. The internet is playing a big part in this changing role of education. Low cost online courses especially those offered through for- profit companies has brought the issue of teaching intellectual property to the forefront. Courses have become "commoditized" and sought as commercial products by online distance learning companies, for-profit universities, and publishers. The digitizing of course materials makes it possible (and potentially lucrative) to package courses in mobile formats that can be delivered by people other than the original author. The result is new opportunities for both the instructor (faculty) "authors" and the institutions. Now it's the quality of the instructors IP that is becoming the value of the education. And that IP is increasingly being recognized as the property of the teachers. The course materials - syllabus, structure, ideas, concepts - everything created by an instructor for a particular course is intellectual property. Colleges and universities are now establishing contracts with instructors detailing who owns the IP rights to the course materials. And that is changing the dynamics of the relationship between teachers and the institutions. Rather than being an employee with tenure, now teachers are (or should be) building portfolios of IP. Makes one wonder if at some point in the future, the competition will be for getting the best quality IP courses. Imagine the implications for the education industry. Maybe instead of just paying instructors to teach, the model will change to institutions licensing teachers content. Just think how that would change the dynamics of education. |
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Strategy Session - Patent Your IP or Keep it a Trade Secret
 You invented something novel? Great! Without intellectual property legal protections, your invention has little economic value. The good news is there are many sources of protection available, including patent law, trademarks and trade dress law, copyright law, trade secrets law, misappropriation law, confidentiality law and non-disclosure agreements. Most of these provide simultaneous overlapping protection, and it may be possible for you to get multiple damage awards against an infringer. . . . trade secrets, however, are a different animal. To have a trade secret, you have to keep it a secret. The Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which has been substantially enacted in 48 U.S. jurisdictions, defines a trade secret as information (i.e., formulas, patterns, compilations, programs, devices, methods, techniques, processes, etc.) that: - Is not generally known in the industry, to the public, or to others who can realize economic value from its disclosure or use;
- Has independent economic value, whether actual or potential, that derives from its secrecy; and
- Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.
(See e.g., Cal. Civil Code § 3426.1. . . .) In some cases, keeping your invention a trade secret may be preferable to publicly-registered patents and copyrights. For example, utility patents are only valid for a limited time (i.e., 20 years) whereas trade secrets - like Coca Cola's formula, the Google search algorithm, and KFC's Fried Chicken recipe - will last forever so long as reasonable efforts are made to maintain secrecy. [See the full article by attorney A. James Boyajian on StreamIndustry.com]
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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, 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.
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. For more information, please visit our website or send an email to info@licensingcg.com.
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Webinar Coaching Event- How to Identify and Inventory Your Intellectual Property Do you need some coaching to help you identify your intellectual property assets? If so then make sure you join us on Tuesday, June 4th at 1PM Pacific /4PM Eastern for a free open coaching session with myself and co-founder Mitch Axelrod.
There will be a short discussion about the types of IP, how to identify it, and tips to keep in mind when creating an IP inventory. Following this discussion, you will have an opportunity to ask us questions about your IP. 
When you signup for this coaching webinar, you'll also get a free report, IP: The Economic Currency of the 21st Century, and access to the IP Licensing Essentials online clinic. The clinic provides an in-depth look at why intellectual property has become the most important (and largest) asset class in the world, how IP creates wealth, and how to build your personal IP net worth.Click here to signup for the coaching webinar. http://bit.ly/148K7pK |
Video Licensing Lesson  | | Licensing Builds a Bigger Pie |
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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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Key Terms & Conditions - Product Liability Insurance
Included in every licensing agreement is a product liability clause. This is an important financial (protection) clause and it is designed to protect the IP owner (licensor) against customers claiming injuries as a result of using the licensed product (service or technology). This clause also covers any claims or fines for unsafe products, false advertising or other legal issues that arise from the sale and distribution of the licensed products.
The licensee is usually required to get an insurance policy for an agreed upon amount (i.e. $2,000,000), and include the IP owner as being insured under the policy. If you are the IP owner, make sure that the product liability insurance is required to be in place within a certain time period, typically 60 days.
When preparing or reviewing a licensing agreement, it's always best to seek qualified legal advice before you sign anything.
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This Month in IP History - 1935 ROLLS-ROYCE was trademark registered.
- 1946 "Eensie Weensie Spider" by Yola De Meglio was copyright registered.
- 1953 Patent #2,641,545 was granted to John Kraft for the "manufacture of soft surface cured cheese"
Source:About.com |
Ask Rand Brenner
Q: How would I approach an author and talk with them about licensing products based on their book?
A: The best way to approach an author is to ask if they would consider licensing their book. Their interest would probably depend on how you wanted to use their content.
Books can be licensed in several ways depending on the type of book. For example, kids books, such as storybooks with lots of graphics and characters, are often ideal for licensed merchandise. The most popular licensed products for kids books include toys and apparel. Kids books are a great source of licensing opportunities and can become big hits. Some popular examples include Dr. Seuss, Clifford the Big Red Dog and The Magic Bus.
You can also license non-picture book content and use it in different product forms, such as audio CDs, DVDs, movies or products; different book formats, such as soft cover, comic book or graphic novel; in partial content form such as individual chapters for multi-author books, educational courses or training classes. Some examples include Harry Potter and Chicken Soup for the Soul.
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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Licensing4Profits Store
 From IP to Income - Whether you are an inventor who wants to license out the rights,or an entrepreneur seeking to acquire the rights to an intellectual property, this introduction to the licensing process will show you inside tips, options and strategies to successfully license an intellectual property. Click here to get more information.  Leveraging IP: The Business Income Accelerator - The strategic use of intellectual property can substantially enhance the business development and competitiveness of your business:from product development to product design,from service delivery to marketing, and from raising financial resources to expanding your business internationally. Click here for more details.  License Your Expertise IP: The 90 Day Cash Flow Creator - If you are a Consultant, Coach, Speaker, Author, Trainer or other service based business professional, you can license your Professional Expertise, generate more money, and take your expertise to a far wider audience than you can ever achieve single handed. Click here for more details.
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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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