Profit from Your Idea: How to... | Buy

Everything you need to protect and profit from your invention!

Richard Stim specializes in small business, copyright, patents, and trademark issues at Nolo. He practices law in San Francisco and has represented photographers, software developers, crafts people, publishers, musicians, and toy designers. He is the author of many books, including Whoops I'm in Business, Music Law, and Patent Pending in 24 Hours. .

Your Legal Companion	p. 1
Gearing Up to License Your Invention	p. 5
Licenses	p. 7
Assignments	p. 11
The Licensing Process	p. 12
Avoiding Conflicts Among Multiple Agreements	p. 14
Challenges to Your Ownership	p. 20
Transferring Ownership of Your Invention to Your Business	p. 23
Disclosing Information About Your Invention	p. 34
Keeping Your Records	p. 35
No False Hopes! Reviewing Your Invention's Commercial Potential	p. 36
Intellectual Property Protection	p. 43
General Rules for Legal Protection of Inventions	p. 45
Utility Patents	p. 47
Trade Secrets	p. 56
Trademarks	p. 61
Design Patents	p. 63
Copyright Law	p. 64
Sorting Out Nonfunctional Features: Design Patents, Product Configurations, and Copyright	p. 65
Ownership Issues for Inventor Employees	p. 69
What Type of Intellectual Property Is Involved?	p. 70
Employer/Employee: Patent and Trade Secret Ownership	p. 71
Inventions Covered by Copyright	p. 76
Special Employment Situations	p. 78
Working Out Ownership Issues With Your Employer	p. 81
Invention Financing and Joint Ownership	p. 85
How Much Money Do You Need to License Your Idea?	p. 87
Sources of Funding	p. 89
Joint Ownership	p. 97
How Payments, Loans, or Investments Can Create Joint Ownership	p. 99
The Joint Ownership Agreement	p. 102
Licensing Agents and Representatives	p. 109
Agents	p. 110
Completing the Agent Agreement	p. 113
Attorneys as Agents	p. 120
Invention Marketing Scams	p. 121
Soliciting Potential Licenses	p. 127
Before You Begin Your Search	p. 129
How to Find Potential Licensees	p. 130
How to Overcome a Licensee's Bias Against Submissions	p. 134
What's the Best Way to Solicit a Potential Licensee?	p. 136
Product Presentations	p. 140
Should You Solicit Foreign Licensees?	p. 142
Protecting Confidential Information	p. 149
Confidential Information and Nondisclosure Agreements	p. 151
Proceeding Without an Agreement	p. 161
Waiver Agreements	p. 163
When You Have Sufficient Bargaining Power	p. 164
Disclosing to Employees and Contractors	p. 166
Disclosing to an Attorney	p. 166
The Key Elements of Your Agreement	p. 169
From Handshake to License	p. 170
Identifying the Parties	p. 171
Describing Your Invention and the Licensed Products	p. 172
Specifying Which Rights Are Granted	p. 177
Defining the Territory	p. 183
Setting the Length (Term) of the Agreement	p. 185
Money: It Matters	p. 195
Some Basic Royalty Definitions	p. 197
Ways to Get Paid	p. 200
The Mysteries of Net Sales and Deductions	p. 204
How Much Do You Get?	p. 206
Royalty Provisions	p. 210
Negotiating Your Agreement	p. 219
What, Me Negotiate?	p. 220
Documenting the Important Contract Elements	p. 222
Letter of Intent	p. 225
Option Agreements	p. 229
What If the Licensee Wants to Proceed Without a Written License Agreement?	p. 236
Sample Agreement	p. 237
License Agreement	p. 239
Optional License Agreement Provisions	p. 274
Modifying the Sample Agreement for Your Needs	p. 279
Warranties, Indemnification, and Proprietary Rights Provisions	p. 283
Promises, Promises ... Warranties, Representations, and Covenants	p. 284
Indemnity: The "Hold Harmless" Provision	p. 287
Licensee Warranties and Indemnity	p. 293
Proprietary Rights	p. 295
Commercialization and Exploitation	p. 299
Samples and Quality Control	p. 299
Insurance	p. 300
Termination and Posttermination	p. 303
Termination and Posttermination	p. 304
Termination Based Upon a Fixed Term	p. 305
Termination at Will	p. 306
Termination Based on Contract Problems	p. 306
Termination and Bankruptcy	p. 308
Posttermination: What Happens Afterwards?	p. 309
Survival of the Fittest	p. 311
Boilerplate and Standard Provisions	p. 313
Paying the Lawyer's Bills	p. 315
Dispute Resolution	p. 317
Governing Law	p. 319
Jurisdiction	p. 320
Waiver	p. 321
Severability	p. 322
Entire Understanding	p. 322
Attachments and Exhibits	p. 323
Notices	p. 323
No Joint Venture	p. 324
Assignments	p. 324
Force Majeure	p. 326
Headings	p. 326
Establishing Escrow Accounts	p. 327
Service Provisions	p. 333
Service Provisions Versus Separate Service Agreements	p. 334
Training the Licensee's Personnel	p. 336
Installation of Equipment	p. 337
Technical Support for the Licensee or for End Users	p. 338
Improving, Modifying, and Delivering the Invention	p. 339
Handling the Licensee's Agreement	p. 347
Dealing With Suggested Changes	p. 348
Evaluating an Agreement Presented to You	p. 350
Evaluating the Provisions and Suggesting Changes	p. 351
After You Sign the Agreement	p. 363
Create Your Contract Calendar	p. 365
Dealing With Royalty Statements	p. 367
Resolving Licensing Disputes	p. 370
Avoiding Patent Misuse and Illegal Agreements	p. 372
The Taxman Cometh	p. 375
Quality Control	p. 377
Help Beyond This Book	p. 379
Licensing and Intellectual Property Resources	p. 380
Working With an Attorney	p. 385
How to Use the CD-ROM	p. 391
Installing the Form Files Onto Your Computer	p. 392
Using the Word Processing Files to Create Documents	p. 393
Listening to the Audio Files	p. 395
Listening to Audio Files You've Installed on Your Computer	p. 395
List of Forms Included on the CD-ROM	p. 396
Index	p. 397
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.