Wholesale and Patented Freeper help requested.

UnBlinkingEye | 5/14/2002 | Me

[UnBlinkingEye]

I am hoping for some input from informed Freepers regarding patent licensing rates in the consumer electronics industry.

I would also like information on what the approximate percentage of manufacturers suggested retail price is to the manufacturers selling price to the distributor, digital camera market pricing.

[UnBlinkingEye]

Thanks for any advice.

[UnBlinkingEye]

Any thoughts?

[UnBlinkingEye]

We are getting close.

[UnBlinkingEye]

I saw your comments on an earlier thread on a similar topic.

[UnBlinkingEye]

I saw your comments on an earlier thread on a similar topic, too.

[UnBlinkingEye]

The prior comment:

I saw your comments on an earlier thread on a similar topic, too.

Was supposed to be addressed to you.

[UnBlinkingEye]

The prior thread I referred to was yours. How's the patent process going?

[vannrox]

Good Luck. I hold over six patents and it hasn't helped me none. If you are the inventor it means nothing. What is important is whom is the consignee of the patent. They "own" it. If you have a unique skill related to that patent, and a company wants your help they will track you down. It has happened.


Patents can be accessed by a number of agencies. NERHA is one such. Companies usually don't lisc. a patent UNLESS there is absolutely no way around the design. Then, they will come to you. At that, they will either buy the rights to the patent outright (rare but happens) of offer a royalty fee.


In the Automotive world, especially with the big three the royalties can be as high as $0.25 per application. In the Consumer industry, expect around $0.03 per application. A good example is SILVERSTONE. You can get a generic Silverstone-like finish, but if you want to claim it to be "Silverstone" and marked as such you have to pay a $0.03 royalty per appliance.


Don't expect to make millions or thougsands on your invention. It is unlikely. The best way to profit from your technique or design is to apply for a grant and use the money to fabricrate your own devices. GOOD LUCK.

[UnBlinkingEye]

Thanks. I'm sorry to hear your patents haven't been commercially successful to this point, hopefully their day will come.

[MississippiMan]

I know this won't be the answer you won't, but there really aren't any norms. Royalty rates can vary from less than 1% to 10% (rare), depending on how badly the licensee wants the technology, how strong a component of the finished technology the licensed technology will be, etc., etc. With all that said, the closest thing I could offer you to a norm would be to say that 3-5% is generally typical.

Primary consumer electronics have notoriously low profit margins, i.e. spreads between manufactured cost and the sales price. By primary, I mean DVD players, digital cameras, etc., the actual core item. A tighter spread between manufactured cost and price point could be seen as good for the licensor (you), but this fact could also be reasonably used by the licensee to argue for a lower royalty rate. By contrast, accessory technologies—think printer cables, some forms of media, various add-ons—are often very high profit margin items. In any royalty negotiation, don't lose sight of the forest. A penny for a high-volume item can add up to a lot of money.

There are so many aspects to this game that must be considered. If you get close and need detailed help, I do consulting on this stuff and would work cheaper for a Freeper.

Best o'luck...

MM

[patent]

There isn't enough information here to answer the questions. That said, personally if I were you I would not post that type of information online.

I am hoping for some input from informed Freepers regarding patent licensing rates in the consumer electronics industry.

IMHO, "consumer electronics industry" is an extremely broad term. Even properly narrowed its hard to answer that, and I personally wouldn't do so without an attorney client relationship. Some things to consider. What are the manufacturing costs for the item, what are the profit margins expected to be. Is it cheaper to make than other products, more expensive? Can you sell it for a higher price than competitive products? Does it help increase sales of other products? Things like that. There has to be an economic reason for the licensee to sign on. If you have the greatest thing since sliced bread, but it doesn't save or make a dime, no one will license it.

patent

[MississippiMan]

Errata: won't = want

Geez.

DOH.

MM

[Rodney King]

Slow, but thanks for asking.