So in light of the upcoming 2014 Licensing Expo, I just wanted to court the idea of licensing as a whole and open it as a topic on the blog. So long as this blog exists, so shall this courtship, lol!
So what is licensing exactly, and how can it be useful to independent authors and any other owner of intellectual property? Honestly, it’s one of the world’s best kept secrets that, with the right information and effort, you could totally tap into!
The video below, as well as the book listing beneath it, explains licensing WAY better than I ever could! Start with the video, as it gives you a super easy intro the concept of licensing. Then check out the books for a deeper exploration of how you could apply it to YOUR intellectual property!
Licensing can really change your life as an indie, so don’t overlook it. 😉
Licensing 101: Understanding the Basics
Licensing 101: Book List!
1. The Basics of Licensing: 2012-2013: How to Extend Brand and Entertainment Properties for Profit by GREGORY J BATTERSBY and DANNY SIMON
Coauthored by two industry pioneers with more than 60 years of combined experience, this breakthrough volume of the Basics of Licensing series offers both the novice and veteran alike proven, practical insights on how to maximize their position in the world of licensing. From the fundamentals of securing intellectual property rights to the finer points of contract negotiation, product development, marketing strategy, and more, no repertoire is complete without this immensely valuable resource.
Also included, in addition to the core commentary provided in every chapter, is a set of appendices featuring useful administrative templates and licensing form agreements derived from actual transactions. The helpful advice and professional insights conveyed here are enhanced by practical definitions of licensing terminology, a detailed history of the licensing industry, and analysis of contractual terms and their implications.
2. One Simple Idea: Turning Your Dreams into a Licensing Gold Mine While Letting Others Do the Work by STEPHEN KEY
Turn your great idea into millions—without lifting a finger!
Yes, a good idea is enough to build a fortune! Too many people think production, marketing, and distribution are essential to the entrepreneurial process. As One Simple Idea shows, you can hand these tasks off to others—and make big money in doing so.
Stephen Key, a highly successful entrepreneur whose creations have generated billions of revenue, offers the simple, effortless secret to success: license your simple idea and let others do the work.
Breaking down the process of generating and licensing a product idea to a large company, he explains why you don’t need to reinvent the wheel: Simple improvements to existing products can be very successful endeavors—and the most lucrative.
The old method of bringing products to market through prototyping and patents doesn’t work anymore. It’s cheaper and more profitable to do it Key’s way. One Simple Idea gives you everything you need to tap into the marketing and sales power of partners and licensors for maximum profit.
3. One Simple Idea for Start Up and Entrepreneurs: Live Your Dreams and Make Your Own Profitable Company by STEPHEN KEY
From award-winning entrepreneur, inventor, and business owner Stephen Key comes the highly anticipated follow-up to his bestseller One Simple Idea
Stephen Key is back, and he’s delivering a proven, straightforward process for starting, growing, and running a business—without the need for an MBA or millions of dollars in funding.
Key draws on his own experience as a billion-dollar inventor to offer how-tos and other takeaways you can use to get off the ground and into the black. Case-studies of his most successful students and other innovators further underscore “key” principles from the book, while strategies for testing, protecting, and marketing a product make it easier than ever for you to follow achieve your business and life dreams.
Stephen Key has successfully licensed more than 20 simple ideas that have generated billions of dollars of revenue. The course he teaches has attracted more than ten thousand students around the world.
4. How to License Your Million Dollar Idea: Cash in on Your Inventions, New Product Ideas, Software, Web Business Ideas, and More by HARVEY REESE
The classic guide to cashing in on your million-dollar idea.
Whether you’ve invented a great new product, or you have an idea for an app, an online business, or a reality show, How to License Your Million Dollar Idea delivers the information you need to snag a great licensing deal. Now in its third edition, this book has become the go-to source for budding inventors and entrepreneurs who have great ideas and want to cash in on them without putting themselves in financial risk. Licensing is the way to make that happen and this book explains exactly how it’s done.
You’ll get tested advice on how to protect your ideas and find a licensee for new products, apps, TV game shows, websites, software, and more. You’ll also learn how to develop your creative thinking skills and objectively evaluate your ideas.
- Explains how to protect your new idea with or without patents and copyrights
- Directs you in finding the perfect person at the right company and on how to prepare a presentation that gets you to a “yes”
- Reviews sample licensing contracts to help you understand what your creativity and achievement entitles you to
You’ll also read accounts from profitable inventors on their own goof-ups and brilliant moves along their paths to success.
Hope this gets you excited about expanding your works’ breadth and exploiting your rights as an indie! I’ll be back with more on licensing all throughout the life of this blog, so stay tuned! And of course, in the meantime…
Keep it indie,
<3 Colby