HOW TO LICENSE YOUR PATENT

Most individual inventors should consider licensing their “patent rights” to an existing manufacturer and simply collect a quarterly royalty.  It is important to understand that you license the “patent rights” and not the invention.  In other words, you must either have a patent or have applied for a patent (“patent pending”).  No manufacturer is going to seriously consider licensing your idea without a patent or patent pending (see our Patent Protection section).

Licensing your invention is basically a Four Step Process:

  1. Locate Manufacturers
  2. Prepare Marketing Material
  3. Submit Marketing Material to Manufacturers
  4. Negotiate License

Of course reaching Step 4 depends upon how well you do Steps 1 – 3.   You will first want to Locate 20 to 100 Manufacturers who make products similar to your invention.  You will then want to prepare a professional looking Marketing Letter and possibly even a Professional Brochure of your product.  You may even want to start your own Product Web Site showing your invention in further detail for the manufacturers that receive your marketing letter.

After you receive some responses from manufacturers, the next step is to Negotiate the Licensing Agreement which you should hire an experienced attorney for.  If you are unable or unwilling to take the time for the Four Step Process, then you should consider our People Who Can Help section for assistance in marketing your invention to a manufacturer.

 


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