All the above background work and analysis prepares a company for licensing out its portfolio. However a question remains as to the negotiation value of any individual patent. Is the portfolio worth more separately or all together? To gain insight at the individual patent level, several software companies have engaged in creating patent [...]
Identification of Licensing Opportunities One means to identify potential licensing opportunities is to look at the total number of citations of the company’s patent portfolio by other entities. The “Identification of Licensing Opportunities” figure shows how many times other entities cited a particular company’s portfolio. Potential licensees might thus be not only the [...]
A key question facing executives when they are about to license-out an intellectual property portfolio is “What’s the true value of these assets and who should I license them to so that I further my business objectives?” Answering this question in a timely and accurate manner is vitally important. The ability to quickly [...]
Step 1. Perform an intellectual asset inventory and mapping. Ideally this should have already been done to ensure there are enough high-quality intellectual assets to make a licensing out program worthwhile. Step 2. Evaluate opportunities through technology and market analysis and evaluation. Again, the preliminary work should have already been done by using [...]
Portfolio Mining Process to Create Licensing Revenue Having answered the above questions and formulating a licensing strategy, the company would undertake the following four steps in order to implement a successful licensing program (They are also imbedded in the “Portfolio Mining Process to Create Licensing Revenue” figure):
Ratio of Sold vs. Unsold Patents To determine how to use licensing-out to create value, company needs to formulate a licensing strategy that is consistent with its overall business strategy. Note that not all art offered for license is sold/licensed as shown in the “Ratio of Sold vs. Unsold Patents” figure. In fact [...]
Licensing out is a highly effective way to maximize utilization of an intellectual asset portfolio. The common business objectives associated with licensing out in order of importance to the licensor are: to collect royalties; to enter a foreign market; to exchange technology with an industrial or commercial partner; to support the selling of [...]
During the negotiation it’s also important to pay attention to the process. First, it is important to remember that driving for the very best deal possible can be fatal. You can win the war and lose the battle. P&G found this out when they were negotiating for technologies from small entities. Because of [...]
In negotiations there is also the cultural preparation that is required. Remember that everyone is on their best behavior during the deal process so make sure that these people are ones you can work with effectively day-to-day. You also want to determine if you can set up and maintain good communications. And finally [...]
Once the top several technology or intellectual property candidates have been identified, the organization should drill down further in steps three to five of the Evaluation Process for a New Technology figure to identify and assess all the relevant technology and intellectual property licensors by performing the following tasks: compile a list of [...]
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