Part 1 of 3
By Trevor Lambert, President
In the last
decade I have had the great privilege to work with many independent inventors
as they seek to commercialize their inventions.
Our company, Lambert & Lambert, represents technology owners seeking
to license or sell their intellectual property rights by collaborating with
companies well-positioned to sell the product and pay royalties to the
inventor.
Over the years
I’ve been able to see the inner workings of deals come to fruition, and others
collapsing miserably. No doubt we all
know the path for inventors is an arduous one, paved with hurdles, set-backs
and sometimes heartbreak. However, sometimes
those hurdles and set-backs are a product of the inventor’s own making. By way of action, attitude or expectation,
the inventor actually obstructs the deal from going through. So in an effort to learn from past mistakes,
let me share a few stories that may teach you what not to do. The names, companies and products have been
changed to protect the guilty.
Story
#1 – Arrogance
A Fortune 500 (I’ll
call ABC Corp) contacted us in search of technologies in fabric care. Since we represent inventors, not companies in
search of products, we performed a search and discovered a very unique
technology developed by a small R&D firm on the east coast. We convinced them to allow us to represent
them and engaged ABC Corp to generate interest and set-up a meeting with all of
their key staff and decision makers.
At the meeting
our clients were asked to provide a technical overview of the product. We prepped for the meeting extensively and so
I was very comfortable with them making the presentation. However, this is precisely when things began
to unravel. Rather than positioning
their product as “highly complementary” to ABC Corp’s product line, they kept
stating that their technology was “better” and went on to be outwardly negative
toward ABC Corp’s technologies. I was
becoming embarrassed since the lead engineers were in attendance and visibly
getting agitated by their comments.
The meeting went
on for over two hours and we took a break to allow them to internally discuss
what had been presented. Not
surprisingly they passed on the technology and the VP of the division mentioned
to me afterward that he was surprised how arrogant they were. They liked the technology but not the
inventors. Sadly, to this day the
technology has not made it to the market.
Considering ABC Corp projected yearly sales of 250 million, the
inventors are out a significant amount in royalties.
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About Lambert & Lambert:
Lambert & Lambert is a contingency-fee based invention marketing and patent licensing firm that specializes in consumer products. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Lambert & Lambert provides services to inventors, product developers and small companies throughout the world and currently has products selling in numerous retailers.
Contact:
Tim Sherman, Director of Customer Service
Tel: 651-552-0080 | Fax: 651-552-7678
info@lambertinvent.com
Links:
Lambert & Lambert Homepage Lambert & Lambert Invention Blog
Lambert & Lambert on Facebook Lambert & Lambert on Twitter
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