Patent Licensing

Patent Licensing

Patent licensing is considered one of the most viable means of commercializing a patent. In short, a patent holder seeking to license his patent will not exploit it himself. That is, he will not try to create, market, and sell anything based on the patent. Instead, he will market the patent itself to those who do wish to take those steps. Any variation of this is known as “licensing a patent.” However, it is best to know some facts about licensing patents before one rushes to do so, or assumes that licensing is a “set it and forget it” means of cashing in on their intellectual property.

What is Patent Licensing?

Legally speaking, you have licensed your patent when you (the licensor) grant exploitation rights over your patent to a licensee (the person you are licensing it to.) “Exploitation rights” simply means the right to create, market, and/or sell something based on what that patent protects. A license of this nature is also a legal contract, and that contract is what will spell out in concrete terms precisely which exploitation rights are being granted. These include any performance obligations the licensor might demand of the licensee. This means that if any performance obligations are included in the contract (ie, “You must produce X number of sales by the year X.”), and they are not met, this could lead to the patent licensing being terminated in its entirety.

In this context, a license is also revocable – ie, cancellable – if certain terms and conditions are not met. This is a common characteristic of legal contracts in general, with special ramifications for patent licenses. The only way to grant someone irrevocable exploitation rights, it should be added, is to assign them the patent. Assignments, however, are permanent. They entail the sale or outright transfer of the patent by the assignor to the assignee. An in-depth exploration of patent assignments is beyond the scope of this article, but just know that they are an option if irrevocable exploitation rights are something you seek.)

Patent Licensing: How to Capitalize

Now that you know what patent licensing is and what it involves, we can move on to a discussion of how to capitalize on them financially. The primary means of doing this is to seek royalties from the licensee in exchange for using your patent. Royalties, typically, are paid over the life of the patent. The amount and frequency with which royalties are paid from licensee to licensor must also be spelled out in the license agreement. In this way, the licensor is protected. If the licensee fails to pay the royalties that were agreed to, the licensor can revoke the patent license and retain sole exploitation rights over it.

Patent Licensing Structures

Here is an example of how this might work in practice. Let us say you licensed your patent to someone in exchange for royalties amounting to 20% of all sales resulting from your patent on a yearly basis. If your licensee creates something from the patent that results in a profit of $100,000, you would be entitled, by the terms of your license agreement, to $20,000 of that profit. If the licensee failed to disburse those funds to you, he/she would be in violation of the agreement and you could then proceed to revoke the license.

(Again, the danger with using patent assignments over patent licenses is that failure to pay royalties will not revoke the rights you have already assigned. You will be free to litigate for the lost royalties, but this is often an expensive and lengthy process. With a patent license, the matter is more or less open and shut. Failure to pay royalties means revocation of the license.)

Now, some more elaboration on performance options is in order as well. Performance options are a form of protection for the licensor. They are a way to ensure that the licensee does not “sit on” the patent, ie, do nothing with it and thereby starve the licensor of the ability to capitalize on it elsewhere. There are two basic types of performance options that can be written into a patent license agreement.

Patent Licensing Performance Options

The first kind is pre-market entry milestones. In short, these are obligations that the licensee is expected to achieve or meet. They could include things like bringing the invention under a trial or validation process, creating a working prototype, satisfying pertinent regulations, progressing through any clinical trials that exist, and so forth. These performance obligations ensure that things move along at a steady pace without any income-killing lag in activity. It prevents the licensee from become inactive as a rights holder.

The second kind of performance obligations are post-market entry sales targets. These take effect once the invention is out of the development stage and available for sale on the market. Very simply, such obligations include sales targets, profit margins, or any other measurable goal tied to the performance of the idea in the free marketplace. These obligations give the licensee concrete goals that he must attain and give the licensor a bare minimum of royalties that he can expect to reap.

Other Recommended Patent Licensing Articles:

• Patent Licensing Negotiations
• Do It Yourself Patent Licensing
• License an Invention to a Retailer
• 10 Tips for Patent Licensing
• License Your Idea to a Manufacturer
• Royalty Rates

In closing, licensing a patent is one of the most reliable ways to capitalize off of one’s intellectual property. By working with a patent lawyer to draft a patent license agreement and choosing your licensee(s) carefully, you will greatly increase your chances of successfully licensing your patent.

Need Assistance? Call 1-832-683-1527 | Idea Buyer LLC – Ohio Limited Liability Company

Keywords: Patent Licensing, Licensing a Patent, License Your Idea, License an Idea, License a Patent.

There were close to 800,000 patents granted last year around the world, according to the latest government agencies that track the statistics and information about these patents.  The top categories were computer technology, electrical machinery and equipment and telecommunications.  And, digital communications just barely fell out of the top 10 in the latest year, but has been higher in past years among all types of patents.  Medical technology and pharmaceuticals are also in the top 10 industries or market segments around the world with active patent applications and awards.  Historically, at least in the U.S. investments in medical research and pharmaceutical product development have always been at the forefront of patent awards. The latest data suggest that this trend continues.  Patents and inventions tend to follow the most popular business and economic trends. Or it may be the other way around. The inventions and innovations included in the patented products help to spur growth in these key areas.

What types of patents are included in these latest statistics?  If you have a new idea or invent something, what kind of patent should you apply for? The U.S. Patent and Trade Office (PTO) patent applications fall into three large categories or types.

Utility Patents

First, there is what’s known as a Utility Patent.  This type of patent is generally issued for the invention of a new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter. Patent applications can also be files for a new and useful improvement on an existing process.  When granted, these types of patents permit its owners to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention for a period of up to twenty years from the date of patent application filing.  Continued patent protection for that period is contingent upon payment of maintenance fees to the PTO.  Approximately 90% of the patent documents issued by the PTO in recent years have been utility patents, also referred to as “patents for invention.”

Design Patents

The second group is called Design Patents.  These are issued for a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture.  If you design a new way to put together an artificial Christmas tree, for example, you can apply for a patent on that design.  Similar to Utility Patents, the Design Patent permits its owner to exclude others from making, using, or selling the design.  But that protection on the design is for a period of fourteen years rather than the 20 years with a Utility Patent.  Another key difference is that Design patents are not subject to the payment of maintenance fees.

Plant Patents

The third large group is called Plant Patents.  These are issued for new and distinct, invented or discovered asexually reproduced plants including cultivated sports, mutants, hybrids, and newly found seedlings, other than a tuber propagated plant or a plant found in an uncultivated state.  This patent permits its owner to exclude others from making, using, or selling the plant for a period of up to twenty years from the date of patent application filing.  And, like a Utility Patent, Plant Patents are not subject to the payment of maintenance fees.  Basically, the Plant Patents are the alternative used by growers, plant enthusiasts, and others instead of a Utility Patent. The concept is similar, but Plant Patents apply to unique and distinct plants rather than products or services.

Other Types of Patents

Outside of these three main types of patents, the PTO also issues or awards patents for a few other reasons, basically to correct errors or offer inventors more limited protections.  The Reissue Patent is issued to correct an error in an already issued utility, design, or plant patent.  Once awarded, it does not affect the period of protection offered by the original patent based on the original date of issue.  There is also what’s known as a Defensive Publication (DEF) or what is now known as a Statutory Invention Registration (SIR) issued by the PTO.  These – and the DEF has been phased out or replaced by the SIR – offer more limited protection as inventors and innovators discover or create new ideas and products. These last two are intended to be defensive in nature and provide a way for an inventor to prevent others from using or patenting the same idea, design or plant.

Provisional Patents

In addition to these key types of patents, and the market segments where they are most important, we are all familiar with the term “patent pending”.  The PTO grants patent pending status to an invention, design or new plant when a provisional application is filed.  Basically, the inventor or creator of the new product or idea submits an application to the PTO that temporarily prohibits someone else from using the idea.  Once the provisional application is submitted, the invention can legally be labeled as “patent pending”.  While this does not offer the same level of protection as an actual patent – only one person can be awarded a patent for an invention – the process does discourage others from trying to copy the idea.  Patent pending status is intended to protect inventors and their inventions while a more formal patent application process is being completed.

Summary

There are three main categorical types of patents. You will need to consult with a patent attorney to determine the best type of patent to file for your invention. Not only does it take time to create and invent and be innovative, but it takes time to file all the right patent documents as well – for all types of patents.

Patent Definition

What is a patent and what will one do for me? Patents have a long history and are designed to protect the rights of inventors, new product creators and innovators. Basically a patent can be defined as “a grant made by a government that confers upon the creator of an invention the sole right to make, use, and sell that invention for a set period of time”. Patents are granted by most governments around the world today in order to recognize the value of new inventions or creations and protect the ability of the inventor to profit from his or her work.

The 3 Types of Patents

There are 3 types of patents in the United States – utility patents, design patents and plant patents. Utility patents are awarded for new products, inventions and things of “material substance” that have been created. Design patents, on the other hand, are awarded for unique and newly creative designs, just as the name suggests. Finally plant patents – which are not issued as often as the other two types – are awarded for new plant breeds, creative new plant formats and other plant-based creations. All 3 types of patents have the same intent – protect the rights of the inventor, designer or plant breeder.

U.S. Patent Office

A patent is a government award that gives an inventor the right to exclude others from making the same thing. According to the U.S. Patent and Trade Office, a patent is a grant of a property right with a typical term of 20 years given to the inventor or creator of the new idea or product. Importantly, patents granted by the U.S. government are only enforceable in the United States, U.S. Territories, and U.S. Possessions. Outside of the U.S., an inventor would be required to apply for patents from foreign governments to protect their inventions outside the U.S.

The right conferred by the patent grant is, in the language of the statute and of the grant itself, “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the invention in the United States or “importing” the invention into the United States. What is granted is not necessarily the right to make, use, offer for sale, sell or import, but the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention. Once a patent is issued, the patentee must enforce the patent without aid of the USPTO.

Does Not Guarantee Success

In other words, a patent is a protection but it does not guarantee marketplace success. Patents are designed to protect your interests and property rights, nothing more. They do give you the right to exclude others from making or selling the exact same thing you have invented. However, in order to protect your rights as well as to make, use, sell or import your invention, there are additional steps required. Basically the patent is like a certificate of ownership. If you own a home or piece of land and you hold the property deed, all that piece of paper says is that you are the owner. There are no other rights or privileges that go along with ownership. As the owner or patent holder, though, you do have the right to exclude others but enforcement requires legal representation and support outside of the patent application and award system.

How Long are they Good For?

Patents are typically granted for a 20 year period. From the date granted, the patent grants the inventor these same rights – to exclude others – for the next 20 years. In the pharmaceutical industry, many times a patent award results in a market monopoly on a specific drug formulation. The company is entitled to prevent other companies from making the same drug with the same ingredients unless they have permission or have negotiated an agreement to do so. Once the patent expires, generic equivalents typically enter the marketplace and many times the original patent holder will convert the patented formula to an over-the-counter offering where a prescription is not needed. The original patent protects the rights of the inventor or company-sponsored inventions during the first 20 years.

As mentioned, though, a patent does not automatically give the inventor the right to make or sell the new products. If your invention, for example, uses a patented product or component as part of your creation you would need to then have permission or rights to use that product. Without those agreements or rights, your invention would be subject to patent infringement investigations or lawsuits. Patents are granted to protect our rights as inventors, but the scope of that protection is limited to exclusionary rights, not necessarily monopoly market power.

Eric Corl is the founder of IdeaBuyer.com which helps inventors obtain, license, and sell patents.

What is Patent Infringement?

Patent infringement is when a company or individual uses, manufactures, imports, sells, or offers a patent protected invention for sale without a license from the patent holder.  Patent infringement liability in the United States also extends to those who knowingly induce others to infringe.

Types of Patent Infringement:

1. Direct Patent Infringement

Direct patent infringement is when a company or individual produces, sells, or imports a product or technology that is protected by a patent. Direct patent infringement is often times accidental but carries high costs and damages.

2. Indirect Patent Infringement

Indirect patent infringement often involves a level of deception and involves either induced patent infringement or contributory infringement which we will describe next.  This type of infringement typically relates to companies or individuals that knowingly aid a third party in the infringement or sell components they know would only be used in the case of infringement.

3. Contributory Patent Infringement

Contributory patent infringement occurs when a company or individual knowingly sells components that are only reasonably used for a patented invention.

4.Induced Patent Infringement

Induced patent infringement occurs when a company or individual license a previously patented invention or sell instructions on how to construct a patented invention. This type of infringement often leads to direct infringement by the third party and is a case where the ‘inducer’ knowingly aided in the infringement without directly infringing on the patent themselves.

Patent Infringement Cost

Patent infringement can end up costing a patent holder a tremendous amount of money in lost opportunity in the marketplace and carries heavy penalties for infringers. Due to the complexity of patent infringement legal cases, the cost of going to court on patent infringement is often very costly to both parties in the short term.

How to Sue for Patent Infringement Damages

To sue for patent infringement damages, a patent holder must be able to prove patent infringement by a company or individual and be able to directly relate that infringement to damages they incurred. These damages can be calculated as lost investment, market opportunity, market growth, company growth, etc. Often, patent damages are calculated on a variety of factors including a factor of the money made by the infringing party.

Patent Infringement Examples

Every day there are patent infringement lawsuits that are filed and settled. Some of the best patent infringement examples are those that have been in the mainstream media over the past several months. Below, I have listed several examples of patent infringement.

1. Microsoft infringement on i4i’s patented technology.

In 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sided with i4i in its patent lawsuit against Microsoft for infringing on a patent in its versions of Microsoft 2003 and 2007. The court awarded i4i Ltd more than $290 million dollars in damages as well as an injunction against Microsoft preventing it from selling the versions of its infringing software. Microsoft was then forced to pay i4i royalties to continue sales of the software.

1. Jonathan Benson infringement on Benchmade’s Patents and Trademark

In 2011, the United States District Court of Oregon issued a final judgment June 7^th ruling that Benson had in fact infringed on their patents and trademark and enjoined the company to stop immediately. It is not clear as to the monetary damages Benchmade was awarded.

Patent Infringement Trolls

There are many patent infringement attorneys and groups that are referred to as trolls. These are companies that license, purchase, or represent patent holders specifically for the purpose of patent litigation against infringers. The practice has been noticeably profitable over the past decade in which most cases take place in the District Court of the Eastern District of Texas.

What to do if someone is infringing on my patent?

If an individual or company is infringing on your patent, it is important to seek patent attorney representation immediately. While patent infringement litigations costs are often high, do not let this deter you. Many attorneys will take patent infringement cases on ‘contingency’ due to their high payouts. This means that in many cases you can attain representation without funding the case yourself. If you are interested in speaking with a patent attorney with experience in patent litigation, you may call us at 832-683-1527 for a free consultation.

Patent Idea Licensing: Royalty Rates
One of the most important steps in licensing a patent or idea is establishing the royalty rate you will receive in return for granting a licensee the right to manufacture and sell your invention. In this article we will explain what royalty rates are, how to calculate the proper royalty rates, elements that effect royalty rates, protections to put in place, and other important things to consider when licensing an idea.

What are Royalties?
Royalties are payments that are provided to a licensor by a licensee in exchange for the right to operate under your idea.

Royalty rates are affected by several criteria:

Exclusivity is when a licensor gives a licensee the exclusive right to market and sell a product by intellectual property.

Non-Exclusivity is when an intellectual property holder provides the right to market and sell a product to a licensee but retains the right to license it to others as well.

Exclusivity can be further broken down to regions or specific locations as is the common practice with franchises. The proper route often depends upon how a product will be delivered to the customer, the demand for the intellectual property, and the market size.

Protections for Idea Licensors:

1. Performance Obligations
2. Void Agreement
3. Exclusive to Non-Exclusive

Performance obligations protect an inventor from getting stuck with a dud of a licensee. You will want to include these provisions in your idea licensing agreement that ensure certain milestones are being met. These milestones can be distribution in a number of stores, sales targets, royalty totals, or best efforts being made. If performance obligations are not met, an agreement can direct for a number of actions to occur. Such actions could include but are not limited to a voiding of the agreement, financial compensation, or for the licensee to switch from exclusive to non-exclusive license.

Licensing to a Company Infringing on Your Idea:

Often times, idea licensing takes place after it has become apparent that intellectual property is being infringed upon. This can be a sticky situation given that if the parties do not come to an agreement, it can often end in costly and lengthy litigation. As a note to inventors, it is important to keep in mind the overall short term and long term costs to litigation. While it may seem like a card to play, be careful not to send willing parties away from the table without giving negotiation a good faith effort.

Note:  It is important to note that royalty rates and damages determined by the court are generally higher. However, avoid litigation if you can – it often ends up ‘costing’ you much more than you anticipated.

If you do get into a position where a company that is infringing upon your intellectual property is unwilling to talk or to come to a reasonable agreement, you may want to consider partnering with a idea licensing law firm that may be able to command more respect at the negotiating table.

How to Command Higher Royalty Rates and Upfront Idea Licensing Fees:
- High tech invention ideas.
- Inventions that solve costly problems.
- Inventions that provide large benefits.
- Has already met industry testing requirements.
- Has already met industry certification requirements.
- Commitment for purchase orders.
- Existing sales.
- Lack of suitable substitute products/technology.

We will be continually updating this article with information on royalty rates. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us by our contact for or email us at info@ideabuyer.com. As always, we ask that you sign up for our newsletter for ongoing tutorials.

How to Sell an Invention – 10 Steps

This article discusses how to sell an invention in ten steps.
1. Conduct Market Research
- Substitute Products
- Retail Price Spectrums
- Market Growth
- Realistic Distribution Channels
- Average Time to Market for Similar Products/Inventions
- Recent Success Stories in the Market
- Analyze the Potential Market Demand (Be Realistic)

2. Know Your Product
- The invention should be engineered.
- You should have a functioning prototype or proof of concept.
- You need to know how much it will cost to be manufactured (Wait for formal quotes until you are protected).
- You need to know what your anticipated margins are.

3. Get Feedback from Those You Trust – Not Your Family and Friends.
- Check out SBDC or SCORE.gov to find local mentors and coaches that the government pays for.
- Vet your idea out with mentors, fellow inventors, or trusted entrepreneurs.
- Do not get offended by critical comments or too flattered by positive comments. You can learn a lot more from critical comments than positive ones. These are often issues that customers may have and issues that friends and family might not tell you.
- It is very likely that the invention you end up selling will be much different than the one you originally conceived. This is OK.

4. Decide at this stage if it’s worth protecting. Some inventions will not be. If you find out it will be a dud, kill it early.
- Read our article on, “Kill Bad Ideas Quick”, here;http://www.ideabuyer.com/news/kill-bad-ideas-quick/

5. If you decide to continue, protect it with a patent attorney.
- We offer discount patent services to our members. If you would like to inquire, contact us via email at contactus@IdeaBuyer.com or by phone; 832-683-1527.

6. Put Together a Business Case
- How will your product idea benefit those who help you?
- How will it fit into their current product spread?
- How do you propose you will work together? What is your proposal for a working relationship?

7. Prepare Your Materials in a Professional Manner
- Color printed, bound.
- Professional Power Point
- Professional Website
- Deal Profile.
- Proposal Outline.

8. Know Your Audience
- Research the companies you feel would be interested.
- Identify specific contacts within those companies.
- Prepare for your calls.
- Be polite and considerate of others time.
- Keep your pitch short and ask if  you can send additional information.
- Accept feedback positively.

9. Be Prepared to Make or Accept an Offer
- Know what you are looking for in regards to a licensing %.
- Know what terms you would like in the agreement to protect yourself.
- Be prepared to accept or reject exclusivity.
- Don’t be greedy. Think about the BIG picture.

10. Repeat Steps 8 & 9 for Additional Companies.

Eric Corl is the founder and President of Idea Buyer LLC, an Ohio Limited Liability Company. Idea Buyer LLC runs and manages http://www.IdeaBuyer.com – The Online Marketplace for Intellectual Property. You can email Eric directly at EricCorl@IdeaBuyer.com. If you have questions about bringing your product to market, feel free to ask us.

Well known American inventor, scientist and businessman, Thomas Edison, never stopped inventing from the time he started through the end of his life. He died with 1,093 patents to his name. More notably though, he commercialized hundreds of patented inventions through patent licensing, patent sales, and by building companies around his patented ideas.

Lesson #1: Invent to Sell

One of our favorite Edison quotes explains his desire to create commercially viable inventions:

“Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success.” –Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison used daily life as inspiration for many of his inventions. He would actively think about and observe problems and needs which he believed people would pay to have solved. Many of his patents were improvements on existing products that increased usability and practicality.

“I have never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others… I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent.” – Thomas Edison

Lesson #2: Understand the Value of Marketing

Unlike other inventors of his time, Edison understood the value of marketing. After inventing a product, he did not sit back and wait for customers to come to him. Instead, he went out and actively marketed his inventions. Early on, he focused on licensing or selling his patents. Later, he focused on creating companies to bring his products to market.

“Unlike other inventors of his time, Edison understood the value of marketing”

Edison believed in showcasing his inventions to the public and throwing down a challenge to competing products. When promoting his DC power over Nikola Tesla’s AC power, he electrocuted an elephant with Tesla’s AC power to prove it was dangerous and should not be used.

Lesson #3: Work Hard and Be Persistent

Thomas Edison was a self-acclaimed hard worker. He did what he had to do so that he could keep inventing. His ambition, drive and motivation are inspirational:

“I never did anything by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work.” –Thomas Edison

Edison figured out how to invent while working full time. He worked jobs that would provide him the ability to invent while he was also collecting wages. Edison purchased his first industrial research lab with the money he made from the sale of the quadruplex telegraph to Western Union which he invented after hours.

Lesson #4: Think Outside of the Box

When Edison was conceptualizing the implementation of electric power, he didn’t just stop at the idea. Edison figured out how to distribute it, in order for people to use it, making him money. Edison’s DC power was eventually replaced with AC power in most states during the mid 20^th century; however parts of New York City used DC power until 2007.

“Just because something doesn’t do what you planned it to do doesn’t mean it’s useless.” –Thomas Edison

Lesson #5: Focus on One Idea

Thomas Edison also understood the power of focus. This is displayed by another one of my favorite quotes of his.

“I have more respect for the person with a single idea who gets there than for the person with a thousand ideas who does nothing.” –Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison used his focus and persistence to get results. Over the period of his life, Thomas Edison founded 14 companies, including General Electric, which is one of the largest companies in the world.

Edison’s strategy for inventing can serve any inventor who wants to make money; invent what people need and then actively promote your invention to find your customers. The only way your invention will have a shot is with persistent and proper marketing.

Create a Listing today and reach investors, patent buyers, retailers, and manufacturers looking for the next BIG ideas.

Learn more about Creating a Sales Pitch or Licensing a Patent.

Lindsey Yeauger is the Product Marketing Director for IdeaBuyer.com, The Online Marketplace for Intellectual Property. You can email her directly at Lindsey@IdeaBuyer.com

Need Assistance? Call us today at (832) 683-1527

Successful inventors know more than just a technical sequence of steps. Beyond that, what really makes them successful is the personality characteristics they possess. They have a mindset that enables them to make the right decisions when they need to be made. While this is a bit harder to learn and master than the steps of a process, it is no less important. In fact, it may actually be more important. That being the case, let’s explore what some of these vital personality characteristics are.

1) Developing a bias towards action.

By far the most beneficial characteristic of successful inventors is having a bias towards action. Very simply, this is a shift in thinking where you are more inclined to do something than do nothing. When an opportunity presents itself, you move quickly and intelligently to capitalize on it. When a problem arises, you act just as quickly to neutralize it and minimize the damage. This is a major change from the habits of non-successful inventors (and non-successful people in general), who are usually happy to twiddle their thumbs while waiting for answers to serendipitously appear.

This is fatal to your chances of success. Therefore, you should make it your business to develop a bias towards action as quickly as possible.

2) Being decisive.

Going hand in hand with the a bias toward action is the habit of being decisive. As an inventor, you are the point man, the rainmaker, the go-to guy. You don’t have a CEO, human resources department, or labor union to bail you out when things go wrong. It’s you or bust, and that makes being decisive an absolute must. Again, this is more of a mentality than a step-by-step process. You need to feel ice in your veins when the time comes to make a big decision, being prepared to stake everything on the choice you ultimately make. As the great philosopher Ayn Rand wrote,

“An inventor is a man who asks ‘why?’ of the universe and lets nothing stand between the answer and his mind.”

3) Having integrity.

One of the biggest reasons people strike out on their own to invent stuff is they want to escape the backstabbing, soul-crushing, opportunistic corporate world. They didn’t want to BS and backbite their way to retirement. Integrity is very important to them, and should be to you.

Therefore, you want to be percieved as a man of your word.You never know who you are going to need a favor from. The person you you talked down last year might be in a position to make or break you someday. Plus, it’s just bad form to screw people in order to succeed. Stay true to your principles at all times and you will have mastered a crucial success habit.

4) Staying focused on your main goals.

Focus is another “state of mind” characteristic that you must work at if you don’t already have it. Very simply, it means devoting the most time to the things that move your goals closer to realization. Direct marketer John Carlton has a term for this: Operation Moneysuck. As he explained it, top copywriters were wasting their time if they worked on anything that didn’t bring in the money. They were not making money when they were fixing the copier, arguing on the phone with vendors, or issuing a refund.

The top inventors intuitively know this.

They know that every second they spend on other things is time they aren’t spending on finishing, packaging, and marketing their product. Adopt the same mindset and you will be well ahead of the curve.

5) Loyalty to your goals

This might seem like the same thing as staying focused on your goals, but it’s really not. Loyalty to your goals is what you need when a seemingly (but not actually) better opportunity arises. As human beings, it’s easier to take your eye off the ball. Especially when you get caught up in what seems cool and glamerous right now. But if you want to succeed as an inventor, you cannot succomb to this temptation. John Carlton elaborates:

“But when you have a set of goals to measure any incoming opportunity against, you know exactly what to do. If the opportunity moves you closer to your goal, then you jump on it. If it doesn’t… well, you’re allowed to reconsider your fundamental goals, but when you’re dead set on something specific (like being an entrepreneur) then it’s easy to let even hot opportunities go (like taking another job with The Man, regardless of how attractive the salary is).”

For an inventor, this means ignoring naysayers who tell you your dream is hopeless. It means listening to your own inner voice instead of surrendering it to people who want you to drag you down to their level.

6) Developing Strong ‘Why’s’

Why are you an inventor? Why are you inventing what you are inventing? Answering these questions – really, firmly, no-doubt-about-it answering them – will take you a long way toward following through on steps 4 and 5. One of the main reasons people don’t reach their goals is because they never had good reasons for setting them. Maybe they picked an arbitrarily high goal to impress their friends or family. Maybe they picked a goal they intuitively know is impossible to reach, so they give up. The solution is setting goals that are A) realistic and B) you actually want and need to achieve.

Think it through in such depth that you can recite your reasons at 3AM when someone pulls you out of a dead sleep and demands to know what they are. Once you are this resolved in why you are doing something, you will be virtually unstoppable.

Eric Corl is the President of Idea Buyer LLC, a new product development company and the parent company of IdeaBuyer.com. IdeaBuyer.com is a marketplace for new technology and products that gives inventors the opportunity to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers.

When it comes to product marketing, everyone thinks they are an expert, but few can produce results. Why is this so? Most of the problem comes from marketing books, seminars, and courses that detract from the heart of marketing: translating features into benefits. Much of today’s marketing is based on product hype . However, the simple truth of the matter is that people buy things to gain pleasure or avoid some sort of pain. It is critical to understand this as it is the supporting motivation for every purchase no matter how little or large it may be. Think about the last two items you purchased. Why did you buy them? You can boil every purchase down to gaining pleasure or avoiding pain.

That being said, there are four key tips to better connect with your customers:

1) Use terms your customer can relate to, not industry jargon.

This point is illustrated eloquently by Jay Cross of the popular online marketing blog PronetAdvertising.com. In his article “Speak Your Customer’s Language”, he stresses that marketers often become so entrenched in their fields that they believe everyone else knows as much as they do.

“As businesspeople we develop tunnel vision regarding our products. The better parts of our days are spent actively working in our fields. We are more experienced and well-read than most ever care to theorize about. This leads us to use super-specialized language that doesn’t always click with customers. I was as guilty of this as anyone. When I did anti-spyware I was guilty of calling my product a “data-driven Internet security solution” or “gateway threat prevention.” And while these terms do apply in a certain context of knowledge (say, a rival CEO’s), they are outside of the realm of a typical customer’s knowledge base. Now that I’m out of that market I can see it with fresh eyes, including the much simpler terms the common man describes it with.”

The solution to this problem is to discuss your products with people outside your company and outside your market. This is the only true way to learn the outsider’s perspective. Once you get an idea of what this is, you can apply it to the packaging and marketing of whatever product you have to offer.

2) Focus on benefits, not features.

This is one of the most oft-made mistakes in all of marketing. To an extent, this is understandable. When you have spent months or years toiling to create a new product, you are naturally excited about all the little things that make it tick and want to describe them to your customers. The problem, as with the last tip, is that the customers do not share this context of knowledge or enthusiasm. So what is the difference, precisely, between features and benefits?

A feature is what something IS. For example, a 50 number speed dial, or a 6 CD changer.

A benefit is why someone CARES. For example, fewer keystrokes and less hassle changing CDs.

Sadly, Entrepreneur.com notes that “not one in ten companies understands the difference” between features and benefits when it comes to preparing marketing campaigns or materials. For this reason, many well-intentioned marketers stress features over benefits and the bottom line suffers as a result. If you want put your marketing efforts into hyper drive, go over everything you put out with a fine-toothed comb and make sure benefits are top, front, and center. You will be amazed at how much of a difference this makes.

3) Write at a fifth-grade level. Really.

This might sound like we are demeaning your customers, but rest assured that this is not the case. It is simply a fact that most buyers respond better to simple language than complex language. In his book “Meaningful Marketing”, Eureka! Ranch founder Doug Hall notes a study proving this to be so. “Whether it’s the lack of reading done by most adults after high school, the immense information overload people experience, or a little of both, consumers simply shut down when confronted with lengthy tomes. The solution? Read your marketing material to a child in late elementary or middle school. Do they understand your product? If not, what did you need to tell them before they did? Incorporate what you learn into your marketing and you will be astounded at the results.”

4) Know whether your customers are right-brained or left-brained

Most of us are familiar with the idea of diving people into categories of right-brained or left-brained. Right-brained people are supposedly more emotional and impulsive while left-brained people are apparently more logical and deliberate in their decisions. In most cases your customer base will be a mixture of both, but one group tends to outweigh the other. You should make it a point of determining whether most of your customers are right-brained or left, as this can significantly amplify your marketing efforts. For example, left-brained customers will expect fliers and copy with lots of facts, product comparisons, and a clear demonstration of value for the money spent. While this is important to right-brainers too, you are more likely to win their business with enthusiasm and energy.

Running a product marketing campaign with these items in mind will help increase conversion rates on most marketing.

Eric Corl

Eric Corl is the Founder and CEO of IdeaBuyer.com, a marketplace for new technology and products that gives inventors the opportunity to showcase their intellectual property to consumer product companies, entrepreneurs, retailers, and manufacturers. You can email him atEricCorl@IdeaBuyer.com. You can visit the site by clicking here >New Technology and Products, Patents for Sale