IP transfer question

[Walter Harley]

I don't know if it's "customary," but the logical thing to do is to sit
down with your client, and talk and take notes until you have something
that you're both happy with. [...]

I do appreciate everyone's efforts to help, but it really would be most
helpful if someone who's been party to a technology licensing agreement
would share with me specifically what the exit clause determining when to
stop paying royalties was.

I can sit down with this fellow and work things out from scratch (though it
will involve an expensive plane trip, especially if I bring the lawyer
along, so I'd like to do my homework in advance), but I'd feel a lot better
going into it with some solid ideas. A few real data points would be very
useful.

John Woodgate's suggestion to put a time limit on the royalty agreement with
an arbitration clause at the end does seem like one reasonable approach.
I'm wondering if there are other approaches that have been successfully used
by folks here.

Thanks!

 

[Frank Raffaeli]

I don't know if it's "customary," but the logical thing to do is to sit
down with your client, and talk and take notes until you have something
that you're both happy with. [...]

I do appreciate everyone's efforts to help, but it really would be most
helpful if someone who's been party to a technology licensing agreement
would share with me specifically what the exit clause determining when to
stop paying royalties was.

I can sit down with this fellow and work things out from scratch (though it
will involve an expensive plane trip, especially if I bring the lawyer
along, so I'd like to do my homework in advance), but I'd feel a lot better
going into it with some solid ideas. A few real data points would be very
useful.

John Woodgate's suggestion to put a time limit on the royalty agreement with
an arbitration clause at the end does seem like one reasonable approach.
I'm wondering if there are other approaches that have been successfully used
by folks here.

Thanks!

If you want to seriously negotiate business, don't bring a lawyer.
(That's just me).

I do a lot of royalty agreements. One I'm doing right now:
Royalty runs out after 10,000 units are built.

Some royalty agreements don't run out. What does this guy want? There
is no single formula you can apply.

A long-term royalty provides an incentive for long-term support and
improvements. Suppose an improvement can increase sales or margin ... I
guess it depends who you are dealing with.

It's a good idea to start with a presumption of trust and good faith.
There is no agreement you can put in place that makes it worthwhile to
work woth someone who lacks integrity.

Rich's face-to-face meeting suggestion is SOP.

Frank Raffaeli
http://www.aomwireless.com/

 

[Rich Grise]

I totally agree. I need to be prepared before that meeting, though - it's
hard to book time with him and he's a couple thousand miles away.

A phone call is significantly cheaper than a plane trip. And quicker than
a car trip, by orders of magnitude! ;-)

I've even done business like this by email, albeit to the tune of a few
hundred bucks' worth of services.

Ask your client/friend/partner how he (she?) feels about product
improvements. Like, in your phone con, ask, "What if I change your
design and it makes even _more_ money? How would you like to split
the take on that?"

That sort of thing. Find a way to make everybody a winner, and how can
you lose? (Hey - I just made that up! Is it as clever as it sounds,
or is it the drugs?)

Good Luck!
Rich