Welcome to the August issue of Licensing4Profits. 

If you are creating and selling some form of art products - photos, drawings, artwork and crafts - don't overlook one of your most important IP assets - your artist brand. In this month's featured article, The Art of Licensing Your Art Brand,  you'll learn the key to building your artist brand value and what to watch out for when licensing it .

One of the most overlooked starting points for licensing your intellectual property is getting the word out. Sign up for our Free E-course - 7 No Cost and Low Cost Ways to Promote your Licensing Opportunity. You'll learn about seven strategies you can use to promote and attract licensing partners.

Take a look at this month's Free Webinar - The Money Making Power of Licensing.  During this webinar, you'll learn why licensing is a money making tool and how to use it to create wealth with intellectual property.

In our  next article, Key Terms & Conditions, you'll learn about the Sales Efforts clause and how it's used to make sure your licensing partner takes action with your IP.

We conclude with this month's question "How would I go about licensing a restaurant's barbecue sauce to distribute and sell locally?"

Enjoy!

 

If you are creating and selling some form of art products - photos, drawings, artwork and crafts - don't overlook one of your most important IP assets - your artist brand.

A well developed artist brand promotes sales, builds market recognition, cements customer loyalty, and generates licensing revenues. Some of the best known artist brands generate millions of dollars in licensing royalty payments and are household names. These include Thomas Kinkade, Mary Engelbreit, Debbie Mumm, and Paul Brent.

 

The key to building a licensable art brand is to include it in all of your communications, such as advertising, pamphlets, websites and packaging. The internet and social media are two of the best ways to advertise and promote your art and art-related products. It doesn't cost much and you can reach prospective clients, customers, and licensees. Some artists set up a charity organization to both promote their art (and brand) and give back to the community. I had a client who's charity promoted kids and art, and successfully increased his brand recognition to a younger market. The more visible your art brand, the more attractive it will be to licensing partners.  

 

Low risk and additional revenues are two of the biggest reasons to license your artwork. Licensing to third-party companies minimizes your manufacturing, distribution and selling risks. Your licensees pay you royalties to use your artwork to sell their products. Its a strategy to expose your brand and art products to more consumers. You can also use licensing to turn an infringer into a partner and avoid or settle an IP litigation.

 

In most situations, it's best to license your art on a non-exclusive basis, limited to specific products. That way, you can divide the IP rights and license it into other product categories to maximize your revenue opportunities. And you'll also have the option to continue using your art IP as well.  

 

You can license rights to use your artwork in a number of ways. These include permission for certain specified uses, markets, territories, or periods of time. Here are two examples:

• Permission to use photographs in a particular magazine, book or other publication, or to display them in a particular venue.
• Permission to copy and distribute visual reproductions of your art, such as posters, prints, or post cards.

If you are not familiar with the licensing process or you don't want to manage your own licensing program, then you'll want to consider using a licensing agent. Although an agent adds to the cost of a licensing program, they bring experience, know-how and resources.

 

Your art brand is one of your most important IP assets. It's core to your licensing program and it must be integrated into all parts of your art business. Your success depends on what you have to license, how well your art fits the market, and what you do to build your art brand.

Feel free to pass this newsletter along to friends and associates. You can visit our websites (www.licensing4profits.com and www.licensingcg.com) to view our blog, special reports, published articles, webinars and audio 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,

 

President & CEO 

       

In This Issue

The number one goal of intellectual property is to commercialize it. One of the most overlooked starting points is getting the word out about your licensing opportunity.

Learn how to use these seven promotion strategies to attract licensing partners and create money making licensing deals.   Click Here to Sign Up

During this webinar, you will learn about developing a licensing mindset, how to think about your IP in terms of leveraging its' money making power, and what types of wealth creating opportunities can be created through licensing. Click here to sign up.

Sales Efforts is a performance clause to make sure the licensee takes action to commercialize the IP.

 

It's particularly critical if the license is exclusive. For example, if the licensee fails to introduce the licensed products at a key trade show, such as Toy Fair, it keeps the IP out of the market for another year.

 

Requirements to promote and/or ship licensed products by a certain date (e.g. shipped in time for holiday sales) are typically used in this clause. It can also require the licensee to spend a certain amount to advertise the licensed products

 

Including a minimum sales requirement (i.e. X amount of sales) is important if the license covers several product categories, territories or distribution channels. You want to make sure the licensee is actively commercializing all their rights.

 

If the licensee doesn't meet any of these dates or sales minimums, they lose those rights or the agreement terminates.

 

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