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MenuHow do I license out a product?
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So this is a great question and requires a relatively complex answer. And this is NOT legal advice.
The first answer is that No, in most cases do not patent the invention yet. Often a provisional patent will do just fine, much cheaper and faster to market.
Most inventor patents out of the gate are a waste of time/money.
Additionally, one license negotiation piece is that if you have the Prov Patent Application, (PPA) then you can have the licensee pay for the cost of YOUR patent.
I recently interviewed licensing expert Stephen Key, NYT Bestselling author of One Simple Idea about this topic.
You can listen if you'd like for free here: http://baconwrappedbusiness.com/stephen-key/
Hope this is helpful
Yes. The only way your protected, at least temporarily is through patenting. Because what you license is the patent not the device.
You can develop a sort of drop shipment operation if you can find a manufacturer in this field who can build t and operates with a Just In Time approach... They build as orders (from your sales efforts) come in, and they take care of shipping to client, not you (drop shipping).
This is a better approach as you can sell something you currently don't have in stock, or have to spend as much money on patenting before knowing if there is really a demand.
Yes, by all means at least file a provisional patent. Under United States patent law, a provisional application is a legal document filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), that establishes an early filing date, but does not mature into an issued patent unless the applicant files a regular non-provisional patent application within one year.
The best place to start would be call up the potential manufacturers and ask them if they look at new technologies or inventions for potential licensing. Some long standing industries with very few players are very difficult industries to licence in.
If actually pitching the technology, you should have IP and I recommend filing a provisional patent which gives a year of patent pending status. Also if you qualify as a micro entity, the PPA filing fee is only $65.
This allows you to pitch to companies with a provisional patent and find out the level of interest prior to investing in the much more costly non provisional patent.
Does your customer own the IP, or Patent for the recycling product? Once he secures the patent rights from USTPO, then he can license his patent to a Co to mfger, and sell the product, he would receive royalties on the sales of his product by a secondary, licensed CO. This is all given that the product and product patent is of interest and has value to a 2nd party Co that wishes to license their patent.
With licensing, you can sign your idea over to another company and let them do all the work. You can still be competitive in the marketplace if you just have an idea that’s slightly different than others out there. You just need a good idea that gives people a small improvement over an existing idea. It can give you a little bit of room to make changes and really flesh out your idea before filing an official patent application. Before getting into the process of licensing, you need to really decide what it is you want, what you think you can get, and research all the different factors that go into the licensing process.
You can read more here: https://smallbiztrends.com/2016/02/licensing-your-product-service.html
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
Related Questions
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How do you determine if a business idea is worth pursuing?
You ask the customers, and gauge their level of interest. Better yet, get yourself in front of some customers, and instead of telling them what you make or do, ask them what they need. When you notice that many of them need the same thing, and if it is something you can make or provide, you then have a business idea worth pursing.DF
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If I have a business idea for a large company, how can I give it to them and mutually profit, without them just taking the idea and squashing me?
Probably not the answer you're looking for, but companies have so many unimplemented ideas that the likelihood of partnering to implement someone else's idea is really low. And besides which, the idea is not something that has much value in and of itself. If you're passionate in the idea, build it yourself. That's the only way you can have leverage.TW
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What advice do you give to a 16 year old entrepreneur with a start up idea?
First, hat tip to you for being a young entrepreneur. Keep it up! If you have the funds to build out your MVP, hire a developer and possibly a mentor. If your idea is marketable, you don't need to give up equity by bringing in a co-founder. If this is your entrepreneurial venture, I would recommend you do retain a coach to help you see all the things you may not know. Have you already done your SWOT analysis? Have you identified your target market? What is your marketing plan? What will be your operating expenses? There are lots of questions to ask. If you would a free call, I'd be happy to help you in more detail. Just use this link to schedule your free call... https://clarity.fm/kevinmccarthy/FreeConsult Best regards, Kevin McCarthy Www.kevinmccarthy.comKM
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How can I make a million dollars?
First, I agree with Chad in that the pure pursuit of money is unlikely to render anything significant. By using a monetary value as a primary goal, you're only diluting the real drivers of success: passion, crafting great customer experiences, building an incredible team and culture etc. That said, making $1m isn't that hard. :) I love this thinking by Amy Hoy and that's how I would go about making $1m: http://unicornfree.com/30x500. Using that logic, this is what I'd do: * To earn $1m in a year, I need to earn +- $80k a month. * To earn $80k a month, I need 1600 customers paying me $50 per month. * So what can I build that could attract 1600 people to pay me $50? * Or, what could I build that could attract 400 people to pay me $200 per month? This logic works on two drivers: * Cumulative revenue and growth. So SaaS works best in this regard, as you only need to focus on having new signups that are greater than your churn. * Building something that people are willing to (really) pay for and going for quality over quantity. If you are building something that sells for $5 pm, you'll need to sell at much higher volumes (which are tricky). In terms of doing that, these are the areas of my business that I would prioritize: 1. Build an awesome team that do things they're passionate about. 2. Prioritize customer experiences above anything else. Do everything in your power (regardless of whether it can't scale) to add value and help your customers. 3. Build a brand and reputation that has long-lasting value.AP
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I have this social media idea,but no coding skills. How do I get someone to do the coding (cant afford to pay them) and not give away half of my idea?
Dilip was very kind in his response. My answer might be a bit on the "tough love" side. But that's for you to decide. My intention, just for the record, is to help you (and those like you) on your path to success. And that starts with having a viable philosophy about entrepreneurial-ism and business. And I'm going to answer this because I get asked some form / version of this question very frequently from newcomers to entrepreneurial-ism. The scenario goes something like this: "I have a great idea. It's amazing, I love it, and I just KNOW it's gonna make me a ton of money. But I have no money right now so I can't afford to (fill in the blank with things like "to build it / create it / market it / etc" or "to hire the required staff needed to work in my business to sell it / develop it / etc"). And I don't want to tell anyone about my great idea because I'm worried someone will steal it and make MY million / billion dollars. But I can't afford to legally protect it either... So how do I launch without the skills to personally create the product AND no money to hire anyone else to do that either??" The answer is ... You don't. Look - let's be honest. All you have is an idea. Big deal. Really. I'm not saying it's not a good idea. I'm not saying that if properly executed it couldn't make you a million / billion dollars... But an idea is NOT a business. Nor is it an asset. Until you do some (very important) initial work - like creating a business model, doing customer development, creating a MVP, etc - all you really have is a dream. Right now your choices are: 1. Find someone with the skills or the money to develop your idea and sell them on WHY they should invest in you. And yes, this will mean giving up either a portion of the "ownership" or of future income or equity. And the more risk they have to take - the more equity they will want (and quite frankly be entitled to). 2. Learn how to code and build it yourself. MANY entrepreneurs without financial resources are still resourceful. They develop the skills needed to create what they don't have the money to pay someone else to do. 3. Get some cash so you can pay someone to do the coding. You'll probably have to have some knowledge of coding to direct the architecture of your idea. So you will likely still have to become knowledgeable even if its not you personally doing the coding. (This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of options... And I'm sure some of the other experts here on Clarity have others to add - and I hope they do) To wrap up - Here's my final tip to you that I hope you "get"... It's FAR more valuable to have an idea that a very specific hungry crowd is clamoring for right now - One that THEY would love and pay you for right now - Maybe even one they'd pre-order because they just have to have it - Versus YOU being in love with your own idea. [Notice I didn't say "an idea that some as-of-yet-undetermined market would probably love"] I wish you the best of luck moving forward.DB
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