With these risks come thrills. Thrills of accomplishment - of achievement - of wonder and awe. "I did it!!" -- you'll exclaim! You are flushed with achievement. You know of only a few who have done as well and you now stand there upon the heights.
-- -- FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT !! -- --
-- "Excellence can be attained if you care more than others think is wise, risk more than others think is safe, dream more than others think is practical, expect more than others think is possible."
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IP Education Center
The Difficulties in Licensing
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Once an inventor has completed an invention; been through the rigors of obtaining a patent; and then endured the process of making multiple marketing presentations, the time has come for what may be the most difficult step of all – negotiating and completing a license agreement with a business interested in commercializing the inventor’s invention.
For those unfamiliar with a license agreement, a license agreement provides a licensee with the right to make, use, and sell an invention. Without a license agreement, a maker, a user, or a seller of a patented invention would be guilty of patent infringement.
As an exchange for a promise not to sue for patent infringement, a licensee pays a royalty to the owner of the patent. Such royalties are most often based on an agreed upon royalty rate multiplied by the net sales of the patented product.
There are no generally accepted printed forms for an invention license agreement; however, many invention licensee agreements contain similar sets of clauses. Such clauses include;
1. Limitations, if any, on the licensee’s ability to make, use and sell an invention;
2. The royalty rate to include payment and sales reporting terms;
3. The manner of effecting a transfer of the technology;
4. The assistance provided to the licensee by the inventor;
5. Confidentiality of any proprietary information;
6. Predetermined behavior which may result in termination of the license agreement;
7. Pursuit of un-licensed infringers;
8. Defense of claims of patent infringement against the licensee;
9. Marketing activities of the licensee; and
10. An array of legal terms generally found in a contract (“boilerplate terms”)
All the foregoing parts of a license agreement must be negotiated. Typically most contentious is the royalty rate.
While many think that royalty rates in an invention license agreement are standard, such is not the case. There may be a down payment of advanced royalties paid to the licensor. Royalties paid may be limited by a floor (minimum royalties paid) or a ceiling (maximum royalties paid). Royalty rates may increase or decrease over time or change based upon sales. In some cases royalty rates are paid into an escrow account only to be opened if certain conditions are met.
A licensor will want to maximize royalties paid to enable recovery of the costs of invention development, patenting and an invention marketing program. A licensee will want to minimize royalties paid to recover the costs of invention development, manufacturing preparation, and a marketing program. Further cost recovery by a licensee may be necessary when there is a need to obtain approvals or endorsements from testing or consumer protection agencies such as Underwriters Laboratories or the United States Consumer Products Safety Commission. Once a license agreement has been signed, many licensors expect to find a continuous stream of checks written for ever increasing amounts in their mailbox. Unless a product is a run-away hit in the marketplace; the amount of money received in royalties is often disappointing to many creators of new products. The reason for this disappointment is a simple matter of arithmetic.
When a retailer sells a new product, the retailer seeks to achieve 50% of the retail price as profit to pay for the store, the employees and all other overhead items. Thus, the manufacturer-licensee receives about 50% of the retail price. Subtract taxes, the cost of returns, and sometimes shipping from what the manufacturer receives to arrive at a net sales number. It is the net sales number that is multiplied by the royalty rate, typically 1%-5%. Many inventor-licensors see only the size of their royalty check and feel that they are not receiving their fair share of sales. However, these inventor-licensors often overlook the cost of materials, the cost of marketing, and the profit that must be made by the licensee.
Even after doing the math some inventor-licensors still feel as if they are not receiving their fair share. In this case most license agreements contain an audit clause where the licensee must provide substantiation for the numbers appearing on the royalty checks.
In other cases, some inventor-licensors believe that the licensee is not doing an adequate job promoting the sales of the licensed product. In this case, some license agreements contain a “best efforts” or a sales minimum clause which allows the inventor-licensor to take an invention to another licensee. While taking an invention to another licensee may be worthwhile in the long run, the inventor-licensor is starting a whole new round of negotiations of terms to be included in the new license.
No matter how detailed or how binding the terms of a license agreement may be in the development, manufacture, and marketing activities of the licensee, the foundation of a license agreement is one of trust. Thus, no matter how good the terms of a license agreement, it is the mutual trust in the relationship between a licensor and a licensee that causes each party to look back on what they have done and call it a good deal.
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One of the Simplest Marketing Tools is
Your Business Calling Card
One of the most powerful, yet ignored, weapons in any businesses' marketing arsenal is their business card. The business card is more than just a piece of paper with a company's logo and a person's contact details. Business cards are now considered a critical contact point of companies to the world.
Today, most companies consider their business card a marketing tool. The card is an advertisement that communicates not just their employee's contact details, but also the overall image of the business. An artistic, glossy card, for example, would give an impression of a company that values individuality and creativity. Traditional, conservative-looking business cards scream an old traditional corporate atmosphere. In business people do not judge a book by its cover; they judge a company by its business card. Broadcasting such a large amount of information about your business on such a small platform makes the card important for business of all sizes. Utilizing this tiny tool will enhance your business's networking strategy in many ways.
Business cards serve as great ice breakers. The exchange of business cards with potential customers is a painless method for breaking the ice in new relationships. Your business card divulges what you are selling. It should be made perfectly clear on the card what you have to offer. Often, a company name by itself does not accomplish this fundamental mission. However, a descriptive catchphrase on a business card can effectively do the trick.
Your business card is a treasure trove of contact information. Multiple ways to contact you are recommended, including phone number, cell phone number, email, and a physical address. Since your business card often makes that all-important first impression, it is essential that your card is effective, informative and impressive. Avoid the mundane. While the information on business cards is fundamental, their appearance is paramount. Stock, design, and ink colors all matter. In every kind of business undertaking, you want to stand out from the pack and give yourself an edge. Start with your business card.
-- "Incorporate Online, Incorporation Services, LLC, Trademark | MyCorporation.com" --
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--- SHUNRYU SUZUKI ----- "In Japan, we have the phrase "shoshin" which means "beginners mind." --
This does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and ready mind.
-- If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything. It is open to everything. In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, in the experts mind there are few." ~ Zen Mind, Beginners Mind (Westerhill)
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Simple Tips To Get Your Business Booming
What was once a hobby or part-time job is now looking like an option to pay the bills. Business startups are increasing dramatically, but what will succeed and what will fail in 2012?
Deborah Sweeney, CEO of MyCorporation Business Services based in Calabasas, has helped hundreds of thousands of businesses startup and has a pulse on the industry. She stopped by KCAL9 Monday to talk about how to get your business off the ground.
5 Simple Steps To Get Your Business Off The Ground:
1) Decide what Kind of Business You Want and Do Some Research. Before you do anything else, ask yourself some questions. What are you passionate about? Do you like to work alone or with a team? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Then, take these answers and do some research about your desired field. Keep in mind what you love to do, and what you're good at. Starting a business takes a lot of time and you will definitely want to be spending that time working on something you enjoy.
2) Create a Long-Term Business Plan. Next, come up with a written business plan that takes in to account the questions you have asked yourself. If you work better with a team, plan for employees or partners. If you aren't very good with accounting, think about easy ways to keep your financials in order. In your business plan, focus on where you want your business to be in 5 or 10 years, then work backwards to this start-up phase. Your long-term goals might dictate your current plans, and having a path set out for you will save you time and energy down the road.
3) Find Financing. The next step is financing your goals. There are many ways to get the money for your business, including friends and family, personal credit, and loans. Be sure to also look for partners/investors and associations that are looking to invest in people like you! This is also a good time to be thinking about building business credit. Business credit will allow you to take out loans in the name of your business, and these types of loans can have higher amounts and lower interest rates than personal loans.
4) Use an Online Filing Company to Make your Business Official. Creating a legal business entity early on in the start-up process is important to protect your personal assets from liability. Online filing services will create your business for you and save you lots of money in the beginning when it really counts. Lawyers can cost around $200 an hour but online filing services will typically charge less for filing your entire business, a process that could take a lawyer more than 4 hours. Using an online filing service guides you through the filing process and helps ensure you do it right the first time.
5) Protect your Business with Trademarks. After you've worked to bring your business idea to life, protecting it becomes important. Companies with similar names or offering similar products can steal customers away or negatively impact your reputation. Registering your business name and product protects against this scenario and allows you to be a unique company, saving you from consumer confusion.
-- "There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding out." -- Russian proverb
-- "Who Owns the Patent?" --
-- "The Copyrightability of Photographs" --
-- Unique Products, Exceptional Values...GUARANTEED! Since 1947 --
___________Walter Drake___________
> > > Gentle thoughts for 2012
There's always a lot to be thankful for if you take time to look for it. For example I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt.
The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends.
The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement .
He who hesitates is probably right.
Did you ever notice: The Roman Numerals for forty (40) are XL.
If you think there is good in everybody, you haven't met everybody.
If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.
Birds of a feather flock together . . ... .and then crap on your car.
A penny saved is a government oversight.
The sole purpose of a child's middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.
Did you ever notice: When you put the 2 words 'The' and 'IRS' together it spells 'Theirs'.
Aging: Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.
The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.
Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know 'why' I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.
When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to your youth, think of Algebra.
You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.
One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young. Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.
Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today, it's called golf.
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-- "Cartoonist" --
A man and his wife walked into a dentist's office. The man said to the dentist, "Doc, I'm in one heck of a hurry. I have two Buddies sitting out in my car waiting for us to go play golf, so forget about the anesthetic. I don't have time for the gums to get numb.. I just want you to pull the tooth and be done with it. We have a 10:00 a.m. tee-time at the best golf course in town and it's 9:30 already.. I don't have time to wait for the anesthetic to work!"
The dentist thought to himself, "My goodness, this is surely a very brave man, asking to have his tooth pulled without using anything to kill the pain." So the dentist asks him, "Which tooth is it sir?"
The man turned to his wife and said, "Open your mouth Honey, and show him.."
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-- --> After playing 18 holes of golf, our foursome was sitting around the clubhouse settling our bets when another golfer stormed in. Fuming after a lousy round, he slammed down his scorecard and announced, "If I wasn't married, I'd give this stupid game up!"
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Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.......... AMEN!
-- -- Thought of the day --
-- "The mark of a great player is in his ability to come back. The great champions have all come back from defeat." --
-- Sam Snead, 1912-2002, Golfer
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Study shows older generation using Web more.
The millennial generation, 18- to 33-year-olds, still dominates the digital market. However, a new study from Pew shows that other age groups are catching up. For instance, social networking quadrupled among those aged 74 years and older. You can use technology no matter what stage of life you're at.
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-- "New Product Launch: Bringing a New Product to Market" - "Becoming rich through patents" --
-- "Exceptions always outnumber the rules." --> --> The IASL "MARKETEERS" INDEX -->
- 001. Think of us as mountain climbers
- 002. Successful Inventing Equals Successful Marketing
- 003. Just a blip on the radar screen.
- 004. Performers on the world's passing parade stage
- 005. Zillion Dollar Idea? Hey! Deal me in.
- 006. Quintillions of Light-years Away
- 007. The meeting of the minds
- 008. It goes without saying
- 009. Put away your money - I've got it!!
- 010. I'd Like to See Them Make
- 011. -- What have you done for me, lately?
- 012. -- The Cutting Edge -- --
- 013. -- If not you, who? --
- 014. And there's always a However?
- 015. Our Final Jeopardy Topic is:
- 016. - Did I forget something?
- 017. Potpourri - Additional Important Information
- 018. You did What? Oh No-o-o
- 019. "You gotta be serious!" - R-e-a-l-l-y
- 020. When all else fails - follow directions
- 021. Anyway...Build a Better Mousetrap..
- 022. What is this world coming to? {:-)
