How to Sell or License Your Invention

When you have a patented product, or your invention has a paten pending status, meaning you are about to have it patented, it’s high time you decided where to go next. You can always keep it to yourself, but wouldn’t be a pity to deprive the rest of the world of your product, be it a utility product, a beautifying product, or any other product that could improve the quality of life, and receive some financial compensation in the process?

But before you sell your invention or license it, you have to make a presentation of your idea to one or more companies, and do so from a business point of view. There are some things that such companies expect of you and of your license invention, as well as there are some aspects they fear. First of all, each manufacturer that might be interested in buying your product is in business with a clear purpose, that of making profit. This is the reason why, above all other aspects, the presentation of your invention must focus on how the product will make them money. Second of all, no one is looking to promote something that the market is already saturated with, or something that is of inferior quality than similar products on the market. Manufacturing companies are more likely to be looking for unique products, whose quality exceeds that of the competition. Furthermore, such companies probably already have specialized channels for manufacturing, marketing, selling and distributing products. Therefore, the product that they are about to buy from you or that you want to license should definitely fit these channels, so that you can sell your invention as a moneymaker.

When it comes to what these companies fear, being sued for supposedly having stolen an idea is something is definitely want to avoid. This means you can relax, because you are most likely to be asked to sign some sort of contract or agreement, stating that you have sold or licensed your invention, and this contract cannot be signed unless it clearly stipulates your financial compensation or terms of payment.

If you decide to sell the invention, it means that you completely give up the rights that you have on your patent, and you receive one payment, which can be a considerable amount of money. On the other hand, if you decide to license your invention, you still own it, but you allow one or more entities to make use of it, and you receive royalties in exchange. The only disadvantage to licensing your invention is that you might not get any royalty fees if your product doesn’t sell.

Regardless of the path choose to follow, either sell or license invention, you have to find companies interested in your product idea. Doing that on your own can be exhausting and not have the expected outcome. You would have to take care of too many things, such as finding potential buyers, making professional brochures of your product, sending marketing letters to each and every one of them, etc. Once again, the wonder of the twentieth century, the Internet, comes to your aid, because you can use it to make all this work a lot simpler. Or better yet, you can allow a team of professionals to take care of your presentation and of finding the ideal buyer for you. They can even negotiate for you, following the indications that you have provided, after which all you have to do is sign and start enjoying the financial benefits of your invention.

By: Groshan Fabiola
Credit:www.superfeature.com