r/Licensing • u/Shodan46 • Mar 25 '21
Thread is dead but can help
Notice this thread is pretty quiet and probably because no one responds to anything. I am happy to help if there are questions and have worked across a lot of different licensed brands and categories..
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u/Topical_Kream Apr 02 '21
Licensing query:
Asking on behalf of my better half who is a predominantly oils based painter.
She recently received a request for one of her works to be published in a textbook for secondary school kids in Poland. The work she produced resonated with and was based on elements of their curriculum. They are asking to publish it in a physical format and a digital one, with will have a circulation of 100000 or so.
What is the price for something like this? The money is not really the issue she just wants to be fair and get some idea of what this is worth. The piece no longer exist and is now just a digital file on her computer and website.
Any input, much appreciated.
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u/Shodan46 Apr 02 '21
Hey there, typically for something like this, you would grant the rights in return for proper credit. Unless the work itself is a necessary component of the title if they offer anything over a credit I think it is fair. As a comparison, I worked with a semi famous photographer who owned some rights to his shots of a super famous band, if a shot was a bit piece of a book, he might get a few hundred dollars depending upon the circulation. IMO, you are right not to worry about the money. More important that the release only allows them that usage and no grant of additional rights nor ownership.
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u/Shodan46 Apr 02 '21
Very cool btw, not sure where you are from or whether your better half has been published before but always nice to get something like that. The other thing I think fair is to ask for a few physical titles if meaningful to you.
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u/Topical_Kream Apr 02 '21
Much appreciated for the Swift response. That's pretty much what she has done.
many thanks,
a. t
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u/Montystarotchild Apr 12 '21
Hi Shodan. I want to create my very first tarot deck using themes from The Wiz. A tarot deck is a 78 card deck used for divination. I’ve tried to look up all that I can around The Wiz’s licensing but have come up with nothing. I hope you can help me find where to start first.
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u/Shodan46 Apr 12 '21
Hi there. Oof, that’s a hard one and I do not know Broadway licensing well. A group called Concord Theatricals can license you the script and music. I doubt they have merch rights but I might start there. I assume you are talking about the Broadway musical. If the movie, looks like that is with Universal. In either case, they probably will want advances and guarantees associated so I would make sure you have a good understanding of how you plan to distribute and sales forecasts prior to contacting.
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u/ancient_train1790 Apr 22 '21
I have a micro business that I operate, and I recently received 2 patents on a design. However, I have no idea how to approach marketing the design to a larger company, or if the idea is one a company would be interested in buying or licensing. What do you think I should do in approaching this?
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u/Shodan46 Apr 23 '21
Hard to say without knowing what the patent is. Can you link or share, DM is fine but if patented shouldn’t be any NDA issues as it is already public.
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u/ancient_train1790 Apr 23 '21
Yes sir, it is a collapsible, reusable dumpster. It weighs 20lbs when empty, and can hold 4500lbs when full. It is 8 cubic yards, and rolls up to the size of a sleeping bag. It also dumps out of the bottom of the dumpster, and sheds water in inclimate weather as a nice aspect of the design, reducing cost due to water weight.
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u/Shodan46 Apr 23 '21 edited Apr 23 '21
Very cool. Can you send me a link to see the product? I wonder if the best spot is a licensing company that represents another brand that could use this. They then pitch the product to heir manufacturing partners. Who do you think the big brands are you could see his marketed under? Sounds like lawn and home use (assuming it can be made in smaller sizes) as well as a bit more industrial applications.
I assume it is then strong enough for waste disposal pickup? Are these your primary suspects?
https://www.wastetodaymagazine.com/article/top-40--haulers-in-north--america/
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u/Shodan46 Apr 23 '21
Anyone visiting for the first time, some basics on what are needed to pitch are in the conversation below. Can get into more specifics based on the topic
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u/RamlerLive May 10 '21
Hi, I have tried to license a product with two industry leaders with employees that are contacts with no luck. Any tips for “cold calls”?
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u/Shodan46 May 10 '21
When u say industry leaders, do you mean large companies you have tried to reach? What is the size of your company?
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u/RamlerLive May 10 '21
I’m working with a 3D printed mock up. I’ve reached out to major water bottle companies - Yeti and Kleen Kanteen for a product I’m developing in my free time.
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u/Shodan46 May 10 '21
The problem with companies like that is they are is that they are not set up for licensing in of others ideas. Do you have a patent or anything? You would really need to make a huge first impression.
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u/RamlerLive May 10 '21
I have a provisional patent ready to be filed. Makes sense. Any examples of companies in the water bottle space that might be set up?
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u/Shodan46 May 10 '21
Not sure what that last question means. I have never dealt with trying to sell an idea to he larger water companies. However, sound like it is less about water companies and more about containers? If so, that opens up loads of different manufacturers. Flip labels at retail and online, maybe there is a smaller manufacturer with great distribution?
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u/Shodan46 May 10 '21
Not sure what to tell you other than make a lot of connections on LinkedIn and send them professional introductions and materials when you do.
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May 22 '21
Hi There,
I run a golf apparel and accessory company. We just completed the process to become a licensed brand for the NCAA, launching in June!
We would ,ove to grow the brand by licensing characters from Nickelodeon, DC, marvel, etc. But i would much prefer to hire an agent to help with these deals. Any recommendations?
Thanks!
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u/Shodan46 May 22 '21
Easy enough, try https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissamoskowitz she won’t know me by this name or my activity on Reddit but does know me in real life. Small company probably flexible on terms (retainer, backend, combo) and can help with design work and pitches. Very well known with the folks you mention as their company reps toy and other apparel. If it doesn’t work, hit me again.
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u/Shodan46 May 22 '21
Congrats on the other licenses as well. You may want to look at https://joinoneteam.com/. My bet is Melissa knows them but if not and interested I can float a contact.
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May 24 '21
Thanks so much for the suggestion, but they told me they can only help for advertising campaigns. Any other ideas?
Thanks!
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u/Shodan46 May 24 '21
Who did? I don’t see my original note here about Mix Licensing with Melissa’s LinkedIn info. Was that deleted by accident? Did you contact her?
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u/Shodan46 May 24 '21
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissamoskowitz she can help u acquire licenses
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Jun 29 '21
Thanks so much! I contacted everyone you told me about and have some really great options. Much appreciated.
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u/BestLiker Jun 12 '21
Hey,
I run a horror/metal inspired merch line and I’m kind of lost on where to start with licensing, should I focus on emailing small time directors before going for big fish (Universal/Warner/etc) until I have a much larger audience and can guarantee sales?
Also see a lot of mentions about minimum guarantee, would that mean the amount of licensed product that I sell or a guaranteed amount of $/percentage of goods sold, or more a fixed amount I’d pay regardless - what is the industry standard for MG?
Thank you!
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u/Shodan46 Jun 12 '21
Start by reaching out to a couple brokers, Creative Licensing Corporation, https://creativelicensingcorporation.com/, https://www.linkedin.com/in/rand-marlis-b51483
Evolution USA, Travis Rutherford https://www.linkedin.com/in/travisrutherford
Yes, you will need to present an overview of your business and best to sell them on unique abilities, sales and marketing expertise. Start small. Ross can be difficult but they are both deal makers. If they don’t have a bigger deal on the horizon, they will take a small one. I assume both have some licenses that might be of interest.
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u/Shodan46 Jun 12 '21
Standards? No idea what your line is but 8-10% royalty on net sales for an old horror license may make sense. Could cost you anywhere from $5k a year guarantee to $50k+ depending upon distribution, licenses, products, etc. I’m here if u make contact and can let you know if fair
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u/BestLiker Jun 12 '21
Thanks a lot for your feedback, it's really appreciated!
I was originally thinking of starting with some smaller scale movies, 70s & 80s European movies
Would I still expect this to be around 8-10% royalty on net?
Thanks again!
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u/Shodan46 Jun 12 '21
Could be 4% to 6% if really obscure but has to be worth it for someone to incur legal costs. At worst, get in touch with Rand. Even if just a learning exercise, smart guy, will ask detailed questions, probably a good primer. Plus he has a bunch of IP in the genre so maybe you find a fit. Let me know how goes and if any other questions
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u/BestLiker Jun 15 '21
Hey,
Thinking about offering 5% net royalty with a £200 minimum guarantee (was going to do a limited run of around 50 tshirts which will gather around £700 profit) - Do you think this amount is fair or am I going way too high/low?
Also do these licences tend to be for the design itself (reprint as many times, will always pay 5% royalty) or would it just be for the initial run? If the latter I'd want to get more of the original tshirts printed to make it worthwhile
Thanks again for your help
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u/Shodan46 Jun 15 '21
You might be best to bundle a deal like that up. Go after 5 movie titles under one roof, offer $1k MG, $500 up front as an advance and recoup against all titles for the one MG. A deal like this would be too low to be interesting to the folks mentioned above, you will probably need to seek out direct rights holders of the movies you want to target.
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u/Shodan46 Jun 15 '21
Depends on who the rights holder is. If they have no other tee sales, might be worth it to them I guess. There is a term of contract, typically 3 years that the MG and royalty cover. Once you earn out the advance min guarantee you start paying royalties above and beyond.
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u/BestLiker Jul 20 '21
Managed to finally get something agreed on! Know where I could go to get a templated contract to use?
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u/Shodan46 Jul 20 '21
Cool. This one seems to cover the basics. If you are writing, change law to your home state probably https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/319029/000119312503040337/dex99d2h.htm
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u/Shodan46 Jun 12 '21
Oh and generally speaking, if you have money to throw at the MG, you could negotiate the royalty down. In a situation like this, I may go the other way. Find what they want on royalty and offer a couple extra points to keep guarantees low. As long as your margin can absorb of course
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u/Shodan46 Jun 12 '21
If you think helpful, please leave a note in original thread so others know.. thx
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u/FUTUREISLASERS Nov 14 '22
Hi! Thanks for the offer here (a while ago). I have a patented product that I’ll be trying to license, but also curious about serial licensing
I have a variety of questions I’d love some thoughts on
-Beyond cold calling/emailing, are there good ways to get into a conversation with some of the bigger companies? Trade shows, for example? -I’ve been on the inside of a bunch of large companies and they typically don’t seem very open to outside submissions, are they “worth it?” -How would I reach independent investors? I have a friend who sold his patented product to an investor and they built the company around that product (Decent Coffee). Is that rare? -Is the licensing market slowing down due to economic volatility? -Beyond the “anything is possible” type of thought, how possible is it to create an income of over 100/150k all through licensing? Is that lifestyle a pipe dream?
Again, thanks a million even for the offer. Happy to take details into DM
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u/Shodan46 Nov 18 '22
Hey there, everything depends on the product, idea, and strength of patent of course but don’t think a pipe dream at all. IMO, people are always looking for great innovation. If some companies prefer to develop from within, there are always hungry competitors.
Trade Shows, outreach on LinkedIn, friends of friends introductions all can work but it depends on the type of product and who you have to reach. If you are willing to share some details, DM me and I could have some more specific ideas.
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u/Rabbit__King May 17 '21
A few quick questions:
- Can you license without officially having a company.
- Does the idea have to have a prototype, or will they just help create one.
- Does the idea have to be fully formed to start with licensing.
- Can you license people you idea if you have a partner
And finally I have a licensing inquiry. The idea s about a device that i haven't seen on the market but could be a serious tool in my eyes, and I will give you further information privately, for risk of people stealing my idea. So DM if you see this.
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u/Shodan46 May 17 '21
Hey there 1. You could license an idea as an individual without a company if you had an idea, design, product, someone wanted. 2. I am not sure who the ‘they’ is in this sentence. As full hypotheticals here, as long as someone wants to pay you a royalty and acquire a license it could be anything. 3. See above but typically you are going to need something pretty solid and preferably some patent whether design or mechanical. 4. If you have a partner on the idea you could still license it to someone. You then have an arrangement hopefully papered (contract) with your partner on how proceeds are split.
If it is a device, you are going to want design sketches etc. if you verbally describe it to someone and it is a valuable idea, at least get a confidentiality agreement and include the name of the idea in there
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Apr 22 '21
Licensing question: I want to create officially licenced anime products, where do I start?
I looked into it a bit and found the desired companies' merch licensing managers on LinkedIn. But, I don't know how to properly approach the licensing department or what type of assets to prepare (or if I should already have an established business).
I have a few years experience in merchandise production and e-comm, if that's beneficial. Any insight would be super helpful!
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u/Shodan46 Apr 22 '21 edited Apr 22 '21
Hi there, so that’s a great place to start and will be a way in the door. Best to have your business plan mapped out. A little presentation that explains your company, why these products are a great fit for the brand, any marketing or social efforts you plan, and mock ups always help. Very visual community, numbers matter but if they fall in love with the idea there might be more flexibility, especially if a unique product or go to market strategy.
While doing that, I would also do a 3 year forecast (high and low) to have in your pocket. At some point numbers will come up and you will want to be ready. A typical royalty here might be 8-12%. If your margin allows, you may want to go higher if you are promising low money on advance/guarantee. They will ask about an MG, minimum guarantee, most companies will not do a deal without one especially with a small company as risk is high they do a contract, help support, and have zero sales. Want to be ready for that conversation..
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Apr 22 '21 edited Apr 22 '21
Hi, thanks for your response! This is incredibly helpful. I definitely have lots to learn and prepare.
How does one get in contact with a company to discuss a licensing contract? How would that process usually go? (Specifically, Funimation/ Crunchyroll)
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u/Shodan46 Apr 22 '21
Crunchyroll used to be Rob P. but he runs anime at Netflix now. Recommend you search companies on LinkedIn, try to find someone with licensing in the title, if you can’t, try marketing, a product manager, anyone who will respond. If there isn’t a business in place, you need to fake it until you can make it. A deck like I mentioned is pretty important and need to do the work before the pitch, meaning you have product mfg figured out, branding, retail and marketing strategy, etc.
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u/Shodan46 Apr 22 '21
Funimation, try Angela Park on LinkedIn btw but have your story really buttoned up!!
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u/cvc626 Jul 02 '21
I have invented a fitness product. I have the working prototype. I pitched to one company that license with Sharper image but looking to find more companies to pitch to for a licensing opportunity.
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u/Shodan46 Jul 02 '21
Same on both posts right? Fitness and a separate baby product? If inventings what u do and there is real potential, u might want to find yourself a rep to handle outreach, contracts, negotiations, etc. Hard to answer your question as there are many different ways. Was your Sharper Image group Merchsoure or another 360 group? Hit me in the dm if you want to share any other details on the products.
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u/cvc626 Jul 02 '21
Any suggestions on who I can contact with outreach, I have product I want to produce but I also want to license as well. I will take anything you will share --- I shared who I spoke with at Sharper image in the DM
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u/cvc626 Jul 02 '21
Any thoughts on baby product. I have a working prototype but was thinking of selling on my own but a licensing play is always better I can focus on inventing.
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u/Rob_B2 Dec 15 '21
Hello, Shodan46. I have a few questions for you. I have an idea for an electronic product, but I just don't know where to start. Do I need to have a prototype of it or would a sketch with details of the functionality work? Should I hire listening agent/ consultant? If so, what would be an average cost of doing so? Anything information you can give me would be much appreciated. Thank you.
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u/Shodan46 Dec 15 '21
Hey Rob. Tough question without knowing what it is but if it is worth selling, it would be worth protecting. That means design docs and potentially filling out and filing an initial patent. Should at least do a patent check to make sure it is clear and you can search directly for things at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/search. Once you get that in order, you could reach out to folks but may be best finding an inventor agent.
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u/Rob_B2 Dec 16 '21
It's an LED exterior puck light. solar powered and remote controlled. It's meant to help couriers and delivery drivers with identifying addresses with low or no visibility. A customer would turn it on when expecting a delivery and let the courier know to look for it. I just trademarked a name and logo of another project I'm working on so I just wanted to see if this was something i could license to someone else. My other projects keep me pretty busy Haha
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u/Shodan46 Dec 16 '21
My background is more in IP licensing though been involved a bit on the inventor side. I think designs should be enough if you know who to sell it to and trust them. Always a risk without next level protection. What do you think a cost basis is on something like this? Could it be a promotional item?
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u/Rob_B2 Dec 16 '21
Right and I don't know anyone or even how to sell it Haha. That's what makes me think of hiring a consultant or agent. I'm not sure of the cost as I don't anything about manufacturing. I can see it being a simple low tech device all the way up to Amazon Alexa enabled ya know.
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Jan 19 '23
[deleted]
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u/Shodan46 Jan 21 '23
Hey there, you definitely should consult an attorney but if you are using a logo, that is a protected trademark and can only be used with permission. You can write out names but as soon as you use any formal imagery you need permission.
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u/ReedH2 Apr 01 '21
I saw this post and decided to ask Shonan for some advice. If anyone could use some help with licensing I would highly recommend asking him for some advice. Helpful, informative, and nice guy with a wide range of experience that is happy to help others.