Entertainment Licensing & Branding Blog

Juggling physical objects takes as much coordination as multitasking mental tasks, projects and goals.  Many people pride themselves on the ability to do many things simultaneously, but is there a limit to the number of things a human can achieve at one time?

Ever try to comb your hair and brush your teeth at the same time? Done it.

Or walk, chew gum and Twitter?  Okay, that is easy.

How about juggling a chain saw, bowling ball and flaming torch?  Seen it and was very impressed.

To juggle many things effectively needs practice or we put our success at risk.  Having too many goals can dilute our ability to complete each individual project as fast as it could have been done if it was our sole priority.  Giving one or two goals/tasks our full attention, allows these to move forward quicker.  What about when there is nothing else you can do at the moment to advance your Priority A goal?

From my own experience, I keep track of the progress of each goal/task to ensure that I don’t fall behind on one because I allocated too much time to the others that I enjoy doing.  It’s common nature to do the things you like to do more than those that you really would rather not do.

Having too many goals can become overwhelming and cumbersome. Some goals start out easy enough but when we add more to our mental plate they may overlap or conflict with each other. Ever had two clients or investors want appointments at the same time and date?  Quantity of goals can hurt the quality of your goals.

Be like a pro and keep only a few projects moving at once. Choose to put one, two or three in the air at any one time and you will have more success plus complete them faster then if you have ten or more going simultaneously. Your efficiency will go up and your stress will go down.

Mind you, you can have more projects on the back burner and keep shuffling those that become active or have more forward movement then the ones you are focusing on.  That way, a project never gets totally cold or dead and everyone knows a dormant project can become the talk of the town once a major element becomes attached (star/director/producer/studio or writer) or media coverage draws heat.

Once a month take a break and assess which of your goals are really worth juggling and in what priority order. Focus on those with deadlines or need to be addressed immediately. The others can be worked on the weekends or in your spare time.

By prioritizing the important goals and spending the necessary amount of time, you will achieve better results faster and more efficiently.  Success breeds success and positive attitude, which in turn, leads to more goals being completed faster and so on…

So choose two or three major goals/tasks and put them on the front burners. Move the less important ones to the back burners.  Once one is completed, move another from the back burner to the front and repeat.

Don’t get me wrong. Always have seven to ten projects/goals in the fire and deal with the hottest one at the time.  You will find that the most important iron may become cold or be on hold until some one else accomplishes something.  While you are waiting for others to catch up, focus on your next most important thing on your list and so on.  Once the main priority project/task is red hot again, carry on with it.

Of course if you have the people to assign some of your tasks/goals to, then delegate away.

Don’t forget to play hard too. Vacations can  freshen the mind and body allowing you to refocus on the tasks/goals at hand even more.

Over time you will actually accomplish more by juggling less.

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Contact Sandford Tuey at info@Playdigm.com and get your questions answered.

When there is a breach of a Licensing Agreement this causes a conflict between the Licensor and Licensee.  Problems of this nature are usually due to the Licensee not living up to the full agreement in some way. Rarely is it the fault of the Licensor (who really just wants to earn income on their Property the Licensee wants to utilize.

If the Licensee is not able to correct the problem within an agreed upon time frame (usually stated in the Agreement), then a material breach has been  made and the Licensor may take legal action to either have the Licensee correct the breach or have the licensing contract terminated.

What needs to be done is ensure that in the licensing contract there are clauses that plainly state what consequences will happen if - a, b or c breach is not corrected within a clearly defined time period. This way it is evident to all parties involved what will happen and it helps judges overseeing court cases make good, quick decisions and fair compensation settlements during the legal process.

The other way to solve this matter is to have the Licensee agree that all the possible breaches, even minor ones, are considered total material breaches of the contract and to have the penalties and/or compensation defined for each breach clause. It is hard for either party to argue in court that they were not in a total breach if the phrase is stated plainly that it is (in every breach clause) and what exactly will happen if this breach is not corrected within the proper time limit.

Penalties for breach of a Licensing Agreement can range from immediate termination of the contract to financial penalties and other concessions that both parties need to agree to during the creation of the Licensing Agreement.

Of course, the best case scenario is to have both parties live up to the Licensing Agreement in full.  Some of the above could also be taken into consideration for almost any contract.

Sandford Tuey

Entertainment Licensing and Branding Specialist

info@Playdigm.com

With every Licensing Agreement there should be attached a one page summary of the agreement that highlights the Property being licensed and what the most significant conditions and terms are.  Here is the Schedule ‘A’ used in the Licensing Agreement between my corporation and the American Automobile Association, which allowed the usage of the AAA logo on my educational board game titled - THE FRIENDLY FREEWAY.

SCHEDULE A

PROPERTY:  AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION Name, Motif and Logo as described in diagram section of this Schedule.

Here was the diagram of the three A’s within an oval circle with the words American Automobile Association underneath it.

LICENSEE PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:  Educational Board game titled:

“THE FRIENDLY FREEWAY”  including and/or all components, designs, characters, and reference materials including with this game design, Copyrights and Trademarks.

TERRITORIES:  WORLD WIDE.

INITIAL TERM:  Three (3) Years From _____ to _____.

TERM OPTION:  As per this Contractual Agreement.

ROYALTY PERCENTAGE:   7.5 % from Net Wholesale Price or 75 cents  whichever is greater.

SPECIAL PROVISIONS:  Refer to this Contractual Agreement.

LICENSOR and LICENSEE can also sign the bottom of Schedule ‘A’.  That way any one can see that the parameters of the entire understanding between the two parties is outlined on one page and agreed to because both signatories have signed the Schedule A as well as the actual Licensing Agreement.

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Schedule ‘A’ is an important attachment to the actual Licensing Agreement since it visualizes and describes the Property that is going to be licensed.  Most Trademarks are diagrams and need to be shown to get a good representation of what they look like and to ensure there is no misunderstanding between the two parties on what is really being licensed.

The Licensee Product description is important to clarify what exactly will be allowed to use the Property on.  Put every version of the product(s) that will be utilizing the Property, including all any and all advertising and marketing materials.

Some contracts allow for World Wide usage of the Property, where others will allow only one country or a group of nations.  Make this as clear as possible by naming every nation if you do not have World Wide usage.  This will ensure there are no misunderstandings on where the Property can be used.

The Term can be for any time period agreed by both parties.  I recommend that you put a clear date from and to, with possible extensions if any are allowed.  Ask for no less than three years.

Royalty amounts can vary from contract to contract and here is where the skill of a good Licensing Specialist can help secure a deal but also a great royalty price.  This negotiation stage is the most important and my expertise is in this area.  Several times I have been able to secure a better royalty rate and/or contract conditions than the lawyers representing both parties, all because of my previous licensing negotiation experience and skilled win-win-win techniques that legal counsels do not specialize in.

In this Licensing Agreement I believed it was in our interest to have a percentage based royalty (7.5 %) because the Canadian currency was rising, yet the American Automobile Association desired a fixed royalty rate of seventy-five ($.75) cents to ensure a minimum fee per product sold.  That is why there is both a percentage royalty rate and a minimum fee royalty rate.

Any Special Provisions or Additional important facts can also be included.

Having both Parties sign the bottom of the Schedule ‘A’ allows for only this one page summary to be shown to third parties, instead of the entire Licensing Agreement (to prove there is an agreement for the usage of the Property).  It also helps make it look more official.

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For the beginning of this series of posts, start at the first one dated Sept 14, 2009 (scroll down).

As most of you know, I am not a lawyer or an accountant and I recommend everyone seek their own legal counsel, accounting and tax advice in all contractual matters.

I provide consulting services and more details are on the ’services’ page of this website.

I hope this contract breakdown helps you understand the intricacies of a Licensing Agreement. Should you have any questions contact me at info@Playdigm.com - please put ‘Your name’ & the word ‘Licensing’ in the subject line of your email.

Thank you.

Sandford Tuey

Well this clause concludes the Licensing Agreement that was signed between my company and the American Automobile Association that allowed the usage of the AAA logo on a game that I invented.  THE FRIENDLY FREEWAY helps teach children how to read a map, legend, left & right, North-South-East-West, and basic sign comprehension.

The next post will be explaining ‘Schedule A’ of the Licensing Agreement which is a one page overview attached to the contract.  For the beginning of this series of posts, start at the first one dated Sept 14, 2009 (scroll down).

This is the next clause in a Licensing contract:

19.  NOTICE and EXECUTION

19. Any Notice or other communication provided for herein or given hereunder to a party shall be in writing and shall be delivered by registered mail or in person to the parties at the addresses set out below:

(a)  to the Licensor at :

“The Licensor’s address.”

ATTENTION: Contact name.

(b) to the Licensee at :

“The Licensee’s address.”

ATTENTION: Sandford Tuey

or such other address with respect to a party as such party shall notify the other in writing as above provided. All notices shall be deemed made upon actual notification or mailing as provided for above, whichever shall occur earlier; provided, however, that notice by mailing shall not be deemed to have been made until delivered.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have executed this agreement as of the day, month and year first above written.

The Corporate Seal of the Licensor.

______________________________

Authorized Signatory

The Corporate Seal of the Licensee

______________________________

Authorized Signatory

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The Notice portion of a Licensing Agreement just ensures that both parties have the correct contact information for each.  It also details the legal methods of contact, in this case - registered mail or by handing a document to the other party.  Note that it is the date the document is actually received that is the correct and legal date of receipt.

It is common now to allow email or fax as a legal method of contact but any method needs to be described in this section to be approved.

Only the proper signatory can sign or endorse a contract on behalf of each party.  Usually this person is identified by name and I recommend to always ensure that the person’s name is printed underneath the signature plus a detail explaining what position this person has with the company (if a corporation is involved).  This makes it easy for all involved to know who are signing the contract.  The days of company seals being needed to endorse a contract are pretty much over so don’t concern yourself with that.

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As most of you know, I am not a lawyer or an accountant and I recommend everyone seek their own legal counsel, accounting and tax advice in all contractual matters.

I provide consulting which is detailed on the ’services’ page of this website.

I hope this contract breakdown helps you understand the intricacies of a Licensing Agreement. Should you have any questions contact me at info@Playdigm.com - please put ‘Your name & Licensing’ in the subject line of your email.

Thank you.

Sandford Tuey