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MenuHow can I sell a product with someone else's IP?
I just found this product on Product Hunt (https://www.producthunt.com/tech/pokeball-charger), and I would like to know how the IP law works.
Let's say I want to sell a similar product, but I don't have the license to sell it. What's the process to get a license to sell products with someone else's IP?
Answers
If the person doesn't have a patent, trademark, or copyright on the thing you want to copy, then you can copy as much as you want. Current IP law in the USA is "first to file" (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_to_file_and_first_to_invent)
If the person has any of those things, and you want to copy them legally then you have to ask them for a licence.
If the person has any of those things, but doesn't have the money to sue you for infringement, then you might be able to copy it with legal repercussion. That wouldn't be very cool though.
There are many things in your questions.
1. If you want to sell a similar product, it means you have identified a market/niche that is not addressed by the current product. A good thing to do would be to contact the company and check for the option to get an Agreement where you could build a similar product - based on theirs - with some tweeks, making sure it is a win-win deal for both parties (you are not competing their product and they access a new market through you). Then you would not have to reinvent the wheel, you would leverage existing IP and knowledge they currently have for this product and able to go quick on the market.
2. If first option doesn't work or you want to compete them directly, then you need to build your own product, i.e. re-invent the wheel (more costs, takes time, etc.). In this case, you need to make sure you are not infringing their IP or any other IP that other vendor might have with similar products (as correctly indicated in previous Lee's comment).
You should not view IP from a strict "law" perspective, you should view IP as an opportunity to leverage other's people work in order to quickly and efficiently build solutions that's going to solve your customer's problem.
First, you need to identify IP associated with the product, if any. The best way to proceed would be to contact them and they will provide you with the relevant IP (patent or design registered with USPTO) and agreement terms for licensing the same.
You would need a license with that IP owner. If you're interested in using another Co's brand, trademark or IP, you have to have a License Agreement with that Co that authorizes your right to use their marks, within a product category, within a specific territory, to specific retail channels.
Having a best selling book on Amazon and a few other ebooks and copyright digital material, it's always nice to be contacted from thoughtful experienced entrepreneurs.
You should reach out to the IP owner privately and ask if they do revenue splits, licensing or have a joint venture program in place and how they work with partner/marketers.
Show them how you both can come out ahead with your proposal. Hope that helps.
Related Questions
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How do I become a licensee of the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA/US Colleges, NASCAR?
A 0.31 second Google search located this: http://i.cdn.turner.com/nascar/.element/pdf/2.0/sect/kyn/NASCAR_Prospective_Licensing_Application.pdfSN
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What range of percentage of net sales is reasonably to ask for.
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, AndreiAM
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If I have a clause in my contract where any "Derivative" works are owned by the company -- what are the limits of this were I to create something new?
This is a tricky question as you are entering a gray area if you are using material from Book Z to inspire your own book. Derivatives works are highly litigated and there is case law that you could turn to to help you make this decision but based on your example its going to be a fine line. You would have to be able to distinguish the products as two very separate works. Since the original book Z is inspiring your new book this may be hard to do. It might actually be easier to talk with the original author about your future plans and develop an agreement between the two of you where he waives any claims he might have here in exchange for recognition in your book. Just an idea--FYI- this is NOT LEGAL ADVICE. You should consult with an attorney in more detail here.MS
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How do I go about getting my invention licensed by a big company?
First off, stop calling it an idea. (might be just that, but in licencing efforts you don't want to call it that). Second, what do you mean time is of the essence? This already started sounding risky. With that said, I believe you have two options, assuming that you can spend the next quarter reaching out and performing poorly in presentations and pitches to executives for licencing deals. 1. Learn the art of pitching and presenting, in my blog I have listed some books, one of them is presentations like Steve Jobs. Check it out here: unthinkeverything.blogspot.com (books are listed on the right) and hopefully secure a deal. The risk with this is that if you don't is time wasted. 2. Figure out a creative way to launch your innovation yourself, even if is simply to test for validation. It can be relatively inexpensive to do this (you didn't provide information on your patented idea so I can't help you on that yet). The upside of you launching your product or validation effort yourself is that it gives you exposure, it gives you business experience and most importantly it adds tangible value to your idea no longer putting you on the spot putting a random price point for it. This also makes it easier for you to approach companies and executives and if the licensing deal doesn't go through you have a business out of it. The reality is that if another business can make profit off a license, so can the owner of the product itself. Just have to figure out how.HV
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We're developing a web product with a team of 10 developers. How can I protect my source code if anyone leaves the company?
If you're using source control, it's easy to track source and control access — or revoke access — if someone leaves the company. Also, your developers should have signed a contract about the project itself that clearly places the source code under your/the client's/the company's control, and if/when they leave, they release all rights to code created under that contract. You can never be 100% sure, but these small steps will at least ensure a legal high ground should anyone steal code. Good luck!JL
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