If I have a question about licensing software to the travel industry, should I talk to a Clarity expert in licensing, or in travel?

Most people -- regardless of their company or product -- go about attracting press the wrong way. The publications exist to provide value to their readers and increase their own readership. Rather than proclaiming how your product is the most amazing thing since sliced bread, think about it from the publication's point of view. How will YOU help THEM solve a problem for THEIR readers? Secondly, do your research on which author/contributor/editor/writer to contact. Not all cover the same topic, nor do they all have the same interests. What may be appealing to one may look like spam to the next. Understand who on staff covers your industry or similar products. Look at what features they highlighted in other product/service reviews; these are the issues they feel are important to their readers. Help them solve THEIR problem and they'll write about you all day long.

Keep me posted. I'm interested.

This is always a question of who wants whom more. I've seen deals where the percentage was in single digits. The thing is, I've seen both deals where a LICENSEE ended up with a single digit percentage and deals where a LICENSOR ended up with a single digit percentage. It all comes down to your ability to convince the other side that you are bringing in so much to the table that the other side should get a smaller piece of the pie. Essentially, this depends on these factors: - whether you are well-known in the industry; - whether the other side is well-known in the industry; - the level of uniqueness of your product (if you've developed another minor variation of a product that already exists on the market, chances are the distributor will want a larger piece of the pie); - your level of desperation (it's one thing when you partner up with someone else who will commercialize your product simply because you can make more money by investing your time building new stuff; it's another thing when you have no realistic way to commercialize the product yourself, and if you don't find someone who can do it for you quickly, you'll starve...) MOST IMPORTANTLY, no matter what number you agree to, make sure you read the contract extremely carefully. Contracts can create rights and contracts can destroy rights. Contracts are more powerful than any rights vested in you by IP laws. So, the bottom line is: - Know EXACTLY what you are trying to get out of your contract; - Get your contract reviewed by an experienced lawyer, but make sure you tell the lawyer what it is you're trying to get out of the contract. Lawyers are not going to create "the right deal" for you. We're not going to tell you whether you should be getting 9% or 90% of the revenue. We're going to make sure that you understand whether the contract you are about to sign reflects what you think the terms of the contract are. You're welcome to schedule a call if you would like to discuss this in more detail. Cheers, Andrei

I'm not an immigration attorney, but I have made trips to Canada to find clients, and this is my understanding of the laws. If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you do not need a visa to come to the United States as long as you will not actually be working and receiving payment from U.S. businesses or employers while in the U.S. For example, you can visit the U.S. to attend trade shows, meetings, conferences, etc. without a visa. Here's a publication from the U.S. State Department that may help: http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/BusinessVisa%20Purpose%20Listings%20March%202014%20flier.pdf

Hello - I work as an in-house transactional attorney for a US-based website with 20 million monthly unique visitors around the world, and I've worked on several licensing and ad-rep deals for several countries in Europe, South America, Australia, etc. There are several ways to protect yourself, but at the end of the day you have to trust your partner that you they will want to be honest so you can continue doing business together. That said, you should give yourself an audit right. Not sure what the software is and if it directly correlates to sales, but if so see if you can track yourself or use a third party's tracking software so you can compare numbers with theirs. Also consider including in the agreement a dispute clause, something to the effect that if you dispute their report for a quarter they will have x days to provide you with sufficient evidence to reconcile the dispute to your satisfaction - if not, you can terminate the agreement. Another way to protect yourself would be to ask for a minimum guarantee, but depending on the deal that may be difficult to work in. As far as working internationally, I think the hardest part there is ensuring collections and that you are paid in US dollars. Stand strong on keeping venue and choice of law in the jurisdiction in which you reside, not in theirs. If you'd like to schedule a call to further discuss, I'm happy to chat, let me know! Best, Jeff