Licensing agreements

lashalle

I`m  Handbag designer and i have designed my own line of handbags i just recently introduced my newline, however i have not only designed handbags i have also designed shoes, and clothing line, and have been playing around with some smells to bring out my own perfume line,  i was thinking about getting some licensing  agreements can anyone tell me about licensing agreements and how do i go about approaching major corporations, or manufacturing companies. any feed back would be greatly appreciated.
 
Warmest regards,
LaShalle

lashalle

Thank you for your reply, i would like to sell my product to a handbag company wich would be me selling a license to the company,  to produce my product to build my brand name.  and  iwanted to do the same with a manufacturing company to produce my line of shoes and perfume.
 
Looking forward to hearing from you soon
Warmet regards,
LaShalle

lashalle

Thank you for your reply,  Can you explain how this actually works?, if i obtain a lawyer will he and i come up with an agreement ?  because like you said i would hate to have something overlooked and lose out. how do you usually approach companies and or manufacturing companies?  i`m trying to learn as much as i possibly can about liscensing. every bit of information will be greatly appreaciated.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon,
Warmet regards,
LaShalle

lashalle

Thank you very,very much i`am so very pleased with the information that you have given me. well i have designed a line of trendy faithbased handbagswith words of wisdom on them with a shoeline to match and i`m wanting to target believers of  god and if the seculiar world take hold of it that will be beautiful, and i must say that i believe that they will because the handbags are very beautiful and everybody likes to hear some sort of wisdom i figure why not carry it with you.  My next question is when approaching these companies is it okay for me to let them know that i`m srtiving to build a brand, and at the same time is it okay for me to still want to have some rights to certain things pertaining to my designs such as creative control and etc.?   well i`m going to check out some web-sites and look for some licsence agreements, and disclosure agrrements as well, and in the mean time i will be keeping in touch with you with any questions that i may have.
 
Warmest regards,
LaShalle 

Mitchell

LaShalle,

lashalle

Thank you so very much!  I`m glad you told me not to download those forms because i sure had been looking at some sites. I havent protected my designs yet however i`m going to make that step asap. because i do have them in a couple of stores right now.  Right  know i`m doing alot of research on licensing because i`m very new to this.  My next question is, are licensing agents good to deal with or would i be better off doing this on my own with the help of a lawyer?  I would like to get a licensing deal for my handbag, shoe,& clothing line if this is possible. but my handbags are out now locaally.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon,
Warmest regards,
LaShalle

lashalle

Thank you for your insight,  If companies won`t sign a confidentiality agreement, what are other options even if i protect myself?  I have recieved great compliments about my bags and would be devestated if someone took my idea and can produce it on a much larger scale than I.  If you have any information on more options, suggestions, ideas, please let me know.
Warmest regards,
LaShalle

Mitchell

 
I really don`t like most licensing agents I have met for a number of reasons.  There are some good firms out there.  I think you need to get recommendations from people. 
Be careful on how long you wait to get protection on your bags.  Depending on what kind of protection you want,  you may lose your rights if you wait too long. 

Mitchell

 
If a company won`t sign a confidentiality agreement, then you can still work with them, you just need to have your IP secure.  There are a number of reasons a company won`t sign a CA.  Most of the time, they do not want the obligation of monitoring that goes with it.  If your IP is protected, then you will have the right to seek legal action if they infringe. 

lashalle

What are some things to avoid and look when choosing an agent, ahould i stay away from the ones who are looking for a payment up front?  or stay away from the ones who say just pay them a perccentage from royalty checks?  

patentandtrademark

There really is no substitute for a patent application.  If the sales will be sustainable over a period years, it is probably a good inventment.

nevadascul

Just a word of caution on licensing agreements. There was a lady who had built a successful dress shop business over an eleven-year period. She was also well known in her area for her dress designs. One day, a representative from a national company contacted her. The rep offered her a chance to join the national chain of stores. The parent company would buy all new equipment for the shop, provide enough seed money for her to hire additional staff and handle all advertising. The national chain would even set her up in another shop in a new upscale shopping mall. There was only one catch. The woman would have to move her dress shop to the new mall and take the lease out in her name. Two years after the move, the shop failed and the woman lost everything she had built up over the last thirteen years. She also could not start over again because she was still tied to the lease for the new shop location.

lashalle

Hello,
Just wanted to know if she had lawyer representaion to look over the agreement to prevent this from happening? or was this something that she agreed to on her own without a lawyer?
looking forward to hearing from you!
Warmest regards
LaShalle

naza

It is also important to buy a non disclosure release form from one of those websites mentioned above. Make sure that the people that you show your project to sign it before you disclose any information.