Patent Attorney and Founder
Hi everyone, I’m J.D. Houvener. Welcome to the Bold Today Show, where you, the inventor, entrepreneur, or business owner, get your daily dose of inspiration to make the world a better place. We’re in part three of our session about goals, going big, and monetizing in that market. As the patent attorney, I can help you, the inventor and entrepreneur, move forward into the process.
Today, we’re going to have a special challenge. This one is about what you’ve been working on the past two days – writing down those goals and getting the environment clear on what you’re going after. This is going to take you to the next level and probably even move you to a place where you might have seen this coming if you’ve been following how I usually try to push you guys. This is to make you draw. Get out some pencil and paper, put some color to it, draw your goals. And yes, you need to infuse the details you put in on day one of this series and the environment. Write the touch, the color, the smell – try to infuse that into your drawing. Put in the details, take some time, get it done right. Maybe get some help in fleshing it out, give it some graphical design if you want to. I did in mine. So enjoy that and go for it. I hope to hear your comments below about how you’re doing on that.
In this part of the law and how patents are monetized, today I want to talk about licensing. You hear a lot about licensing and patent licensing. So, what this means is that you, as a patent owner, have those abilities, those four rights – the right to make, use, sell, and import into the US. It’s about licensing, letting a third party do one or more of those rights, let them exercise those rights for certain remuneration – certain money coming back to you as the rights holder, as the inventor. It’s all about patent law and the rights that govern those across at least two different parties, or certainly could be three or four more parties involved in licensing.
So, there are about four or five major terms in a licensing agreement. Of course, the grant, and the grant is about what rights are being given up. It defines in no uncertain terms what it is that’s being given up by the inventor and what’s being returned by the licensee. The licensor is the inventor giving the rights up; licensee is the one that’s using one or more of those patent rights. Then there’s the term, a term of use. The license can certainly be less than the term of the patent. So, let’s say it’s five years. Does that start from the point of issuance? Is it starting from a certain contract point? So, the term is very important in understanding what rights are given for what duration of time.
The next is about due diligence, making sure that the party that’s being licensed – the licensee – has a duty to actually use the product in commerce. So, the inventor, the licensor, is not stuck with having given up rights and not being able to get any royalties back. And, of course, the fourth big area is royalties. Who’s getting money and how much is it? Is it a percentage on each sale, or is it a flat fee that’s given yearly, bi-annually? Lots of different options depending on the different market and technology.
So, I hope you learned a little bit about patent licensing today. If you’ve got any questions or know anybody that does, feel free to book a free consultation with our firm. Our patent attorneys are ready to speak with you about this. And if you enjoyed the lesson today, please feel free to share this on social media – Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn. It’d be great to hear your feedback. We’re always looking to improve the program here. Today, I’m your host J.D. Houvener of the Bold Today Show. It’s been great being with you. Have a great day.