As the owner of intellectual property, you have an enforceable right to stop others from using it. Your exclusive right gives you a choice about how to earn income from your IP. Kolisch Hartwell has a long history of advising clients who own IP about how to profit from it, for example, by commercializing, licensing, or selling it. Choosing your best option or combination of options requires careful thought and might trigger negotiations with other parties including your competitors. Kolisch Hartwell is well prepared to represent your interests when it comes time to bargain.
One basic choice is whether to use your IP to enforce your monopoly or as the source of an income stream. If you own a patent or patent portfolio, for instance, then you can use it to establish a unique position in the marketplace. Here, your IP has value because it blocks the competition. One benefit of this approach is maintaining the uniqueness of your business; another is a better price for your products.
Another option is to allow others to use your IP in exchange for a royalty or other fee. If you hold a patent and someone else—even a direct competitor—wants to use it, then you can opt to offer a license. This strategy can put you in the enviable position of earning a profit from your own products, earning part of the profit from your competitor’s products, and also imposing a burden on the competition, thereby giving you a competitive advantage. Naturally negotiations of this kind can be complex, difficult, and delicate. Kolisch Hartwell attorneys have negotiated numerous license agreements and technology transfers for clients with varied objectives and technologies.
Not everyone who owns IP makes a product. If you develop or inherit a patent, trademark, or copyright and are not actively involved in the business, then Kolisch Hartwell can help you use your IP for passive income. You could license your IP for periodic payments or sell it outright for a lump sum. Either way, you need someone on your side who knows your rights and how to optimize your return.
Another situation where our IP attorneys can prove invaluable occurs when a business developing a product wants to use someone else’s IP. It might be unclear if it is better to design around a patent or license the rights. Kolisch Hartwell can help you evaluate your designs for potential infringement. Often, we can identify design changes that minimize risks or eliminate the need for a license. If necessary, we can make discreet inquiries for potential licenses, and then negotiate to a transfer of rights under terms consistent with your objectives.