By: Trevor Lambert, President
Moral
of the Stories
As I look back
at these and many other heartbreaking stories it is difficult not to get
depressed and frustrated all over again.
However, my goal is not to paint all inventors as unreasonable, greedy
prima donnas. Rather, my hope is that
these extreme cases of inventor mistakes will provide guidance for budding inventors
on what to avoid.
When looking at
these three stories, you should notice that none of the mistakes the inventors
made had anything to do with the development of the product. The patents were filed or issued, the
prototype was well designed and the marketing message was on target; but still
the deal did not go through. In each
case the mistake was more mental or emotional during the interaction with the
licensee.
Over the years,
I’ve noticed the volumes of available instruction for inventors on how to
develop their invention, but very little can be found on what the inventor can
expect when they engage in talks with the licensee. In an attempt to fill that void, let me make
a few observations that may provide some insight.
First and
foremost, an inventor needs to realize that licensing requires a level of
synergy between the company, invention and inventor. The invention should fit in with the
company’s product line and areas of distribution, and the two parties need to
have a positive working relationship. The
company is considering entering into a long-term relationship to develop and
market your invention and wants to be reassured that the inventor is stable. It may be tempting for inventors to think the
company is trying to steal or knock-off their invention, but resist that
urge. In all my years of pitching
products I have found that the companies behind the recognized brands in any
industry are usually very trustworthy.
Of course you should protect yourself by filing the patent, etc., but do
not question their intentions or let suspicious thoughts cloud your judgment.
Secondly, it is
critical that inventors realize that they are not negotiating a used car
purchase. The company on the other side
of the table is composed of sophisticated professionals and thus any demand,
term or condition should be backed with solid supporting data. In particular, carefully consider what you
are hoping for related to the royalty rate, minimum sales volumes and the
advance. Do not pull numbers out of the
sky; rather perform market research so that your offer is within the range for
that industry.
Finally,
remember that putting together these deals usually takes time – months not
weeks. Depending on how developed your
product is, the company will be investing a large amount in tooling,
engineering, packaging, marketing, inventory, etc., and they will likely want
to consider the product carefully from a number of different angles. They may ask you if they can pitch the
product to some of their larger customers (or retailers) before licensing, or perform
other due diligence, such as a focus group or prior art search. This is a good sign so be patient, yet at the
same time follow up and try to get the company to provide you with a timeline
and benchmarks for putting the deal together.
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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
2 comments:
Really nice story sharing here. i like and appreciate your post. tanks for for sharing it with us.keep it up...
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Thanks for sharing your story.
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