PLAYDIGM Entertainment Licensing & Branding

Before you attempt to raise money or fund a project you should do a Feasibility Study.  Add up the costs of development, production and marketing for the product(s) that will launch your brand. By ensuring first that your project is feasible and will make money, saves you from a lot of headaches in the future.

Creating a Feasibility Study is just good common sense.

I recommend Accountants. including Insurance Agents, Auditors, Financial advisers like Bankers and Lawyers to assist you in this matter. Always seek professional advice regarding any subject discussed in my blogs. These pro’s can analyze your business plan and help design a Feasibility Study that will assist you to decide if you should go forward with your project.

In short, take all the expenditures you believe will be needed to launch and secure a multi-media merchandising successful product and/or brand consumers will love to buy. This is done by working out all the costs associated with getting your product from the MIND TO THE MARKET.

Costs like: designing (artwork, graphic design, prototyping, engineering, logo creation, intellectual property protection, copyright, trademarks) and all other preproduction expenses you can think of.  Get price estimates from printers and manufacturers for the product(s) that will launch your brand and calculate how many units you will need to fill potential orders. Get an advertising agency or representative to provide a quote on the cost to make the public aware of your brand and products in the territories you intend to enter. Include all point-of-purchase displays, brochures, public relations, ad agencies (print/radio/television/internet and other forms of letting the public know you exist), cross promotion and sponsorships.  If expected, the cost of expanding your brand into a feature film, television show, video game or other medium. Consider translastion fees. Don’t forget to include the cost of operations, any taxes and a contingency fund of no less then ten percent of total funds (on average).

Then estimate the revenue projected from the sale of your products/media project and related brand revenue (sales, licenses, product placement and sponsorships) and subtract all these expenses. The difference will be the ‘Before Taxes Profit’. Contact your tax specialist or representative of the government to find out what you can deduct prior to taxes being assessed and to clarify the taxes you may have to pay and subtract this. The remaining (left over) amount is the true profit for your product/project.

After completing the breakdown of expenses for the entertainment licensing and branding project or product, and the profit is determined to be worth the time and effort, then it is time to raise the necessary funds to start the creation of your brand/product(s).

Every year, new products, projects and services are going to be needed. It’s just – which ones will catch on?  What will be a hit?  Which will end up a franchise tent-pole or not a success?

Which will your brand be?

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Orders for the FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – e-book will be available in 2009. Preorder now by contacting Info@Playdigm.com and for further information. (c) Tuey All Rights Reserved.

Ronald Reagon once said to surround yourself with the most professional people you can, delegate authority and stay out of their way.  I would add that you need to ensure deadlines are met and oversee as much of the business of building your brand as possible.

You, however, can not do everything or know everything.  So creating a team is the wisest thing a brand creator can do.  Add an accountant, lawyer, intellectual agent, advertising and/or marketing professional, a banker or any other person/company you believe will assist you in launching and making your project a success.

Take into consideration that it is harder for a business relationship to screw you if you are friends with them.

Take your banker, lawyer, accountant and consultants to lunch, for drinks, to a sporting event or concert.  Anything that can change the strict business contact into a personal friend.  Nothing beats inviting your entire team over for a BBQ.

Before choosing someone to be on your team, make a list of the questions you have regarding the reason(s) you want to talk to a lawyer, banker or accountant.  Then make an appointment with five or ten different bankers, lawyers and accountants who will allow you a half-hour to an hour free consultation meeting.  A kind of first meet and greet.

During this initial free meeting ask the questions you have. Usually, they will answer a few of these questions to ensure you know, that they know their business. After meeting with all of the professionals on your list you will be pleasantly surprised that most of your questions, if not all,  have been answered.  At no cost to you.

Pick the professional that knew what they were talking about and that you got along best with. One that you would like to become friends with and do business with for many years. Then retain their services and after a week or so, take them to lunch on your dime.

By taking these professionals to lunch you are saving money. How? This is more economical than paying their hourly rate – lunch is less expensive. You will still get your questions answered during the meal so it is a great deal for you.

Plus, you are getting to know the person outside of an office setting, making it easier to develop a personal relationship with them, the better friends you are, the harder it is for them to foreclose on your mortgage or screw you down the road. Of course, nothing is guaranteed but it won’t hurt to try this.

Call me, lets do lunch.

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Orders for the FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – ebook will be available in late 2009. Pre-order now by contacting  Info@Playdigm.com  and for further information. (c) Tuey All Rights Reserved.

I was asked what the difference between Branding and Licensing is.

Here is the simple answer:

BRANDING is the method and strategies that help the public become aware of your product or service and to keep them interested, loyal and involved with your brand.

LICENSING is the system and work required to legally allow a person or company the right to use or produce your product or service.  Usually this is via a Licensing contract.

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Orders for the FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – ebook will be available in late 2009. Pre-order now by contacting  Info@Playdigm.com  and for further information. (c) Tuey All Rights Reserved.

Trying to become successful?

The best advice for executives, entrepreneurs and professionals to achieve success is to learn how to network, become a leader, deal with conflict resolution, become an expert at negotiations, limit embarrassing yourself when addressing a crowd, and how to give and take advice.

For those who have brands already in the marketplace, please have Patience.

The previous Entertainment Licensing and Branding posts have been for the benefit of readers new to developing and marketing brands. They were intended to be educational and to get them up-to-speed. Those readers who are just recently thinking about creating a brand read on.  In future posts I will be getting into tactics and techniques on Licensing and Branding, but first we still have a few more basics for the new creators of brands.

Coming up with the idea for a new brand is the easy part.   It is the protection, development, pre-production, production and marketing stages that are costly and time consuming.  In fact, I have learned that all the work up to the completion of the production stage,  consists of only twenty-five percent of the total effort to launch and brand a project or product.

Think of it this way.  An author researches his story, writes a book, shops the novel to the publishing industry and with any luck signs a deal. From the time the light bulb of creation goes on, until their book is printed, months or years may have passed.  Once the book is hot off the presses, the hard part begins.

Or, a person comes up with the idea for a new product or logo and designs a series of mock-ups and prototypes, then revises the product and logo after receiving input from friends and professional advisers to then go on to create as close to the final ‘proof of concept’ version.

More importantly, a new Brand concept has to be original and interest the  the user, reader, investor, business partner and everyone else who can make your dream come true.  The key is how to come up with the initial idea.

Well, here’s how:

Come up with a unique idea, or a new variation on an old idea or a product and improve on it.  How does someone come up with ideas for brands? Here are a few things you can try.

1.  Of course there are the lucky people who just come up with a concept or product off the top of their head or have a vision.  I actually dreamt the Original Bruce Lee boardgame, woke up the next day and created a prototype to play test with my friends.  The dream became a reality within a year.

2. Take a previous product or brand and alter it enough to make it your own.  The key here is to ensure that you’ve changed it enough so that it does not cause confusion with the consumers of the older/previous product.  A Supreme Court decision in Canada came to the conclusion that a minimum of 30 percent difference was necessary to make the similar (yet different enough) product be legal.  Of course, every judge may view this in another way so I don’t recommend copying and altering someone elses idea.  I mean, be unique on your own.  Be a leader – not a follower.

3.  Mind Map.  That is where you take a word or idea and place it in the middle of a piece of paper. Write around this word the free form thoughts related to the word/idea and come up with all sorts of connected and non-connected things that later when you review the paper, you may find a key to something you may want to develop further.  Some times nothing comes from this but every so often one new thought or word will lead to another and another until a great idea bursts forth.  This technique works really well with a group tossing thoughts and ideas about freely.  You never know what will come up from these type of sessions.

4. Pay someone else or a company to take the seed of an idea you may have further down the road.  Engineers are great at this.  Give them a drawing of your concept and they will tell you how much it will cost to engineer it to the prototype stage (an actual working copy). This is not cheap but it is very effective for making things that you do not have the ability to make.

5. Friends sometimes come up with ideas but they never do anything with them.  Pick up on the idea and make it your own or even cut them in for a percentage or royalty.

What ever you can do to come up with new brands and ideas – do it!

Some things work for one person but may not for another.  Do what you have to do to come up with the Billion dollar idea.  Good luck with your dream.

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Orders for the FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – ebook will be available in late 2009. Pre-order now by contacting Info@Playdigm.com and for further information. (c) Tuey All Rights Reserved.

So you have that great idea rolling around in your head but you are not a writer, painter, computer code programmer, artist, singer/songwriter or musician.  You decide to pay someone to help develop your concept into a real physical product.

Accordingly to Copyright law, each creator owns what they produce upon creation.  Which means, even if you pay someone to create something for you, they own the copyright, especialy if you have not done anything to copyright your version prior to retaining the other person to create their version, for you.  Having both parties sign a Confidentiality Agreement would provide you with more protection than you have without one, but there is one other thing you can do to retain your ownership.

Have the person or company helping makr your dream into fact, sign a ‘Work For Hire’ contract that explains precisely that you retain ownership of whatever it is that is being produced, in return for you giving them money or whatever other bartering deal you may manage to put together.

One thing I have learned over the years is that everything is negotiable. I have offered my consulting services in exchange for services to be rendered by artists to help develop my projects to the next step.

What needs to be in a Work For Hire agreement?

Briefly these are the most important clauses that should be included.

The date of the agreement.

Both full names and addresses of each party involved.  One should be identified as the ‘Owner’  of the property ‘the Work’ and the other is the ‘Contractee’ (the person who will draw the artwork, or write the screenplay or create the music or do what you need done).

The Preamble expresses what each party desires to achieve from such a contract. For example: The Contractor/Owner expects to receive work (a painting of such-and-such, a screenplay based on the owner’s short story, etc.) while the Contractee expects to be paid in cash or services or some other agreed upon payment.

Contract Clauses are the meat of a binding agreement and lay out the terms for such a deal between the parties.  They should detail the following:

1. Work for Hire Terms of the agreement and Delivery dates when the work will be completed.

2. Type and time of payment for services.

3. Copyright Ownership in the Work remains with the Owner not the Contractee.  The Contractee transfer their copyright to the Owner for all services rendered under this contract.

4. Waiver of Moral Rights by the Contractee.

5. That the agreement does not create a partnership or employee relationship between the parties.

6. Titles and sections of the agreement if deemed illegal do not terminate the contract.

7. Liability and Indemnification understanding.

8. Jurisdiction territory

9. Signatures of both parties and any witnesses signatures if necessary.

The above is a basic outline and not a complete contract.  Should you be interested in obtaining a detailed ‘Work For Hire’ contract or further  information, contact me at info@Playdigm.com or contact your legal counsel.  I am not a lawyer but I have created, negotiated and signed many  contracts during my professional career.

Once you have an agreement between all the parties, prior to signing it,  you should seek your own legal counsel to ensure the contract says exactly what it is supposed to.

Work For Hire agreements are a great way to maintain complete ownership of your project when work you are unable to do is required to be done.

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Orders for the FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – ebook will be available in late 2009. Preorder now by contacting Info@Playdigm.com and for further information. (c) Tuey All Rights Reserved.

Confidentiality Agreements (also known as a Non-Disclosure Agreement) can be signed prior to telling someone about your product, project, invention or other sensitive information is revealed to any one else. Confidentiality Agreements can not stop someone from taking your information or passing it onto others, but it will help in a court of law, should you need to use the legal system to stop the breach of such an agreement and be compensated for that breach. Without such a contract in place there is no protection.

So before telling someone about your great idea for a screenplay, novel, album, invention, product, or entertainment brand, ask yourself, “Will this person reveal my concept to someone else?” If the answer is a possible yes, then prior to disclosing anything, get them to sign a Confidentiality Agreement.

All this type of contract does is to ensure that the party you are revealing information to is obligated to keep it confidential. If they do not, then you have a legal position to be compensated.

However, basic contract structure needs to be understood before creating any agreement so I will attempt to do that and breakdown in layman’s terms, a Confidentiality Agreement’s basic clauses at the same time.

Confidentiality Agreement and Basic Contract Structure

Usually a contract opens with the standard confirmation date line.

Identify the legal name and address of the Discloser of the information and the Recepient of the information – Party A and Party B.

Then preamble like the following:

It is understood and agreed that the Discloser and the Recipient would like to exchange certain information that may be considered confidential. To ensure the protection of such information and in consideration of the agreement to exchange said information, the parties agree as follows:

1. The confidential information to be disclosed by Discloser under this Agreement (”Confidential Information”) can be described as and includes:

Technical and business information relating to Discloser’s proprietary ideas, patentable ideas, copyrights and/or trade secrets, existing and/or contemplated products and services, software, schematics, research and development, production, costs, profit and margin information, finances and financial projections, customers, clients, marketing, and current or future business plans and models, regardless of whether such information is designated as “Confidential Information” at the time of its disclosure.

In addition to the above, Confidential Information shall also include, and the Recipient shall have a duty to protect, other confidential and/or sensitive information which is (a) disclosed by Discloser in writing and marked as confidential (or with other similar designation) at the time of disclosure; and/or (b) disclosed by Discloser in any other manner and identified as confidential at the time of disclosure and is also summarized and designated as confidential in a written memorandum delivered to Recipient within thirty (30) days of the disclosure.

Recepient Party B is receiving the confidential information and must keep the revealed information secret and confidential and will not reveal it to anyone directly or indirectly, or to a any third party unless given permission by Discloser Party A in writing.

2. Recipient shall use the Confidential Information only for the purpose of evaluating potential business and investment relationships with Discloser. Or for purposes described in writing by the Owner of the Confidential Information.

3. Recipient shall limit disclosure of Confidential Information within its own organization to its directors, officers, partners, members and/or employees having a need to know and shall not disclose Confidential Information to any third party (whether an individual, corporation, or other entity) without the prior written consent of Discloser. Recipient shall have satisfied its obligations under this paragraph if it takes affirmative measures to ensure compliance with these confidentiality obligations by its employees, agents, consultants and others who are permitted access to or use of the Confidential Information who are also, held to this Agreement.

4. This Agreement imposes no obligation upon Recipient with respect to any Confidential Information (a) that was in Recipient’s possession before receipt from Discloser; (b) is or becomes a matter of public knowledge through no fault of Recipient; (c) is rightfully received by Recipient from a third party not owing a duty of confidentiality to the Discloser; (d) is disclosed without a duty of confidentiality to a third party by, or with the authorization of, Discloser; or (e) is independently developed by Recipient.

5. Discloser warrants that he/she has the right to make the disclosures under this Agreement.

6. This Agreement shall not be construed as creating, conveying, transferring, granting or conferring upon the Recipient any rights, license or authority in or to the information exchanged, except the limited right to use Confidential Information specified in paragraph 2. Furthermore and specifically, no license or conveyance of any intellectual property rights is granted or implied by this Agreement.

7. Neither party has an obligation under this Agreement to purchase any service, goods, or intangibles from the other party. Discloser may, at its sole discretion, using its own information, offer such products and/or services for sale and modify them or discontinue sale at any time. Furthermore, both parties acknowledge and agree that the exchange of information under this Agreement shall not commit or bind either party to any present or future contractual relationship (except as specifically stated herein), nor shall the exchange of information be construed as an inducement to act or not to act in any given manner.

8. Neither party shall be liable to the other in any manner whatsoever for any decisions, obligations, costs or expenses incurred, changes in business practices, plans, organization, products, services, or otherwise, based on either party’s decision to use or rely on any information exchanged under this Agreement.

9. If there is a breach or threatened breach of any provision of this Agreement, it is agreed and understood that Discloser shall have adequate remedy in money or other damages and accordingly shall be entitled to injunctive relief; and Recepient agrees that such breach would cause Discloser considerable harm and financial loss, No specification in this Agreement of any particular remedy shall be construed as a waiver or prohibition of any other remedies in the event of a breach or threatened breach of this Agreement.

10. This Agreement states the entire agreement between the parties concerning the disclosure of Confidential Information and supersedes any prior agreements, understandings, or representations with respect thereto. Any addition or modification to this Agreement must be made in writing and signed by authorized representatives of both parties. This Agreement is made under and shall be construed according to the laws of the State of __________, U.S.A. In the event that this agreement is breached, any and all disputes must be settled in a court of competent jurisdiction in the State of __________, U.S.A.

11. If any of the provisions of this Agreement are found to be unenforceable, the remainder shall be enforced as fully as possible and the unenforceable provision(s) shall be deemed modified to the limited extent required to permit enforcement of the Agreement as a whole.

WHEREFORE, the parties acknowledge that they have read and understand this Agreement and voluntarily accept the duties and obligations set forth herein.

Recipient of Confidential Information:

Name (Print or Type):

Company:

Title:

Address:

City, State & Zip:

Signature:

Date:

Discloser of Confidential Information:

Name (Print of Type):

Company:

Title:

Address:

City, State & Zip:

Signature:

Date:

* The most important clauses are the ones referring to the Keeping confidential  the released information and that if the Recepient does not do so, then compensation and damages will be awarded to the Discloser. This is where the legal system will acknowledge that compensation should be allocated to Party A if a court case arises from the illegal transfer of the confidential information.

SIGNATURES of all the Parties to be involved in this Agreement are required to sign.  In some jurisdictions Witnesses are needed to confirm that those signing are truly the ones designated on the document. Check the territory you are signing the contract in to ensure that this is required or not.

Keep it as short as possible. No more than two pages. I have had people refuse to sign a Confidentiality Agreement longer than two pages because it tends to put a red flag up in their mind and some think it is not worth the hassle to hear an idea if they may accidentally talk about it.

I am not a lawyer but I have common sense. Some say, “If it is not in writing it don’t exist.” Even though oral agreements are binding contracts in most jurisdictions they can become a scenario of ‘she said – he said – no I did not’. So the clearer any deal is expressed in writing, the better for everyone. Especially you!

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Orders for the FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – ebook will be available in late 2009. Preorder now by contacting Info@Playdigm.com and for further information. (c) Tuey All Rights Reserved.

Hasbro is a major toy license company.  They have a contract to develop and manufacture toys, games and other merchandise for Marvel and other movies.  It is a company that is focused on developing brands, it’s own and through licensing the right to attach other company’s brands to the products they manufacture. They are what is called in the entertainment industry – a Master Toy Licensing entity.

In 2007, I received a telephone call from George Delaney, a seventy-two years young entreprenuer, who has been a games and toy agent for decades.  I submitted several of my games and brands to him a year earlier but had heard only praise about the quality of my brands, comics and games.  After that, nothing. So I wrote off that attempt to expand my products and brands via his help.

A year passed. Then I got a group of telephone calls in November – December 2008 that he is talking with a Hasbro connection of his.  Now everyone in the biz knows he has had a relationship with this company for many years and sold/licensed a bunch of products to them before (plus to many other companies), so I became very interested right away.  I mean this is Hasbro, one of the world’s largest and most powerful toy companies. They could launch any brand internationally and finance brand penetration to the point where almost everyone on this planet would know what my Galactic Gladiators and other submitted brand concepts were all about.

This was the big leagues.

This was serious business.

This is every entertainment creator’s dream.

Two days later, George Delaney calls me again to ask me to send my bio and toy/entertainment background info to a Hasbro executive with the ability to make things happen.  We also discussed several other people in the Hasbro Research and Development department that we mutually knew (Hi Michael).  So this was the real deal. Things were getting exciting.

He had talked with a few people who liked what I had created and set up a meeting for him to pitch my stuff. This was extremely short notice but being prepared for the lucky breaks is the best way to ensure to be ready for situations like this. His meeting was that afternoon and he would call me with the results later.

Everyone in my immediate circle was excited. Investors, business connections, family and friends were hoping for the best but I made sure they were aware that the percentage for a successful submission being licensed was very low.

This industry has the ability to take one to the highest peak, on top of the world.  This is a stressful state combined with the rushing to get packages together for important  meetings like this one.  My only wish was that I could be there to assist in the pitch because no one knows my products/projects better than me, just like no one else can explain your projects better than you.  Second hand information does not translate as good.

Anxious and uncertain were the next few days until George called to let me know that Hasbro had passed but loved the concepts and artwork used in developing my brands.  Their upper management decided to put over a billion dollars towards their Marvel Master Toy License.

They invest a hundred million to launch a brand these days.  Hasbro put a few of their own in-house brands on back burners to push the successful Marvel projects and toys.  A good decision, as I am a big Marvel fan.  I am sure this will pay off well for both parties.

However, the low of being pushed off to be reconsidered in 2012 or 2013 is some consolation but at least the iron is still in the fire.  If you knew me you know that I never quit and will continue to work on my projects.   Only next time, I am going to be at the meeting and help pitch and seal a deal, if not with Hasbro, then another powerful company.

Of course, I will continue to market my entertainment projects throughout the world as I have in the past.  With or without a major toy licensee.

I originally wasn’t going to mention this but this is part of the branding process and actual inside information can only help you with your endeavours.  Remember- the harder you work, the luckier you get!

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CONTACT: info@Playdigm.com or check out the Contact page.

My entry into the entertainment industry was through the back entrance – merchandising.  In 1985, I created, financed and published ‘The Original Bruce Lee Martial Arts Game’ and marketed it into 75 countries.  Not bad for a guy who never owned his own corporation before and was running the business out of his basement.

The instant recognition and credibility awarded me due to my legally licensing and endorsement by Mrs. Lee and the Bruce Lee estate, helped with penetrating the international toy industry.  After years of expanding the product line and exhibiting at trade shows, I realized that the big money was in owning the brands that were licensed to be on product boxes and not the products within the boxes themselves.

After many years of licensing big name celebrities and organizations and placing them onto my products, I inverted my company from a manufacturer of toy products to a creator of brands.  It was the smartest thing I could have done.  Wish I would have done it years earlier.

Summer Redstone (who owns Paramount) once said in an interview: “We are paying the talent (actors) too much. Because it is not the talent that makes the movie, it is the script. The play’s the thing, as someone once said. And if you have a great script, the talent rushes to appear in it and not at too heavy a price.”

Even though the talent (actors and directors), once attached to a project, help producers obtain the financing from studios, investors and banking institutions, none of this would need to happen without a good story.

That is why I started writing screenplays, at first on the side in my spare time and now on a regular basis. All of my screenplays have been spec scripts (speculative) and not on assignment.  Unless you allow for the fact that I assigned myself to develop certain concepts over other story ideas that I came up with.  Choosing only the best-of-the-best to write.

People follow characters who are placed in situations where the plot and/or antagonists hinder the lead protagonist in achieving their goals.  Spiderman, Hellboy, Superman, Harry Potter and other brands, draw audiences because they relate with or enjoy the characters within those stories. So it made sense for me to come up with my own characters and stories to brand.

For every dollar earned from box office or television revenue, there is roughly four to five times that earned from VHS, digital online, DVD sales and rentals.  These figures are dwarfed by the amount of revenue generated by merchandise based on the successful movie brands.  Luckily, this is my area of expertise and I can design boardgames, toys, graphic novels and other merchandise to compliment the screenplays I write.

A target audience will not only pay for tickets to see their favorite characters played by their favorite actors, but will also buy the video/DVD and watch the movie/animation or television show over and over. For movies to become blockbusters they need viewers to watch them again and again. This can be driven by good reviews and positive word of mouth.  Even inter-industry brand promotion and product placement helps.

Great movies are reissued in different formats over the years in new editions. While others end up in the discount bin. Bigger star power, larger awareness and profile, bigger budgets, and a more powerful promotional campaign from studios does not always guarantee franchise success. Low budget films can become huge unexpected hits and prized collector’s items because their screenplay are just better.

That is why I have chosen four of my best movie ideas to develop to final script in 2009.  Because the movie business finances big budget tentpole movies and the compensation for my time and effort is greater for writing these kinds of brand specific projects, I am going to focus on these type of films, it just makes sense. Mind you, with one exception – one script is a low budget project that has the potential to be made locally her in Vancouver, Hollywood North.

My goal has always been to create and develop the best entertainment products as possible. Design characters that audiences will love, and films that will stand the test of time. Brands that will still be in the public’s mind long after I have passed away.  Films, video games and merchandise licensed from such entertainment properties that people will enjoy forever. This has been one of my goal for decades.

I look forward to the new year and writing the next screenplay which will hopefully, turn into a success brand the world will enjoy.

Want to save some money?

So you are doing lunch or talking over coffee about some great idea or project until you agree to do something for someone and/or vice versa. Entering into a verbal agreement with a person(s) is as legal as a binding written agreement. So be careful what you say or commit to. Everyone knows you should always consult with legal counsel on any contractual matters or legal agreements, but lets say this is the long weekend or you can’t reach your lawyer for some reason or you are a poor starving artist.

In the spur of the moment you shake hands and realize that you have just entered into a verbal agreement without a signed written contract.  Nothing is in writing.  Both parties should draw up an agreement to sign but again, lets say there is no access to printers or legal counsel or some unknown reason both parties can’t sign anything at this time.  Trust me it happens.

Doing your homework before engaging a lawyer can save you a substantial amount of money. What I mean is after your meeting go somewhere and write down ‘your understanding’ of what you are committed to do and what the other party has agreed to do.  Then email a letter to the other person/group with all these points.  This is the first record of a deal.

If there is any future dispute, winning the case all comes down to evidence and the talents of the lawyer you retain.  Note the following:

1) The best case is to get it in writing and all involved signing a contract.

2) If not able to do so, here are a couple ways to protect your position in a deal.

a) Verbal Agreements are a binding contract but it is important to sign a contract explaining in detail what both parties will be doing and what compensation each is expected.  Record your understanding in a daytimer.

b) After a meeting where a verbal commitment is now expected from you and the other party, how to prove what was said and agreed upon? Well start by sending a follow-up email or letter indicating that you enjoyed the meeting on such-and-such date and look forward to achieving the goals both agreed to. Then write exactly what you believe the verbal understanding is and send it to the other party.  Don’t forget anything.

Should the deal fall apart for any reason and it becomes necessary to go to arbitration or court to sort things out, then the legal system will appreciate what ever evidence that can be reviewed. Even an email that lays out the conditions of the agreement from only one parties side.

If the receiving party of your email does not respond negatively or challenge any of your points and understanding of your agreement, most likely the email will be accepted as a good representation of the agreement. Otherwise, if the email was not the complete understanding of both parties, the other party would have responded to clarify exactly how they interpret the contract. Their silence could be deemed consent of the written facts expressed in your email. Believe me,  it is better than nothing to help substantiate your verbal contract.

3) Audio and video tape records are good, as long as it is legal in your jurisdiction (check with police on that). During a conversation (telephone or live) make sure all parties involved are identified and participating in the conversation, try and fit in the date as well.

It is my understanding in Canada, that it is legal to record someone without having to inform them you are doing so (as long as you participate in the conversation). For example. You can not record other people at another table in a restaurant without being involved in that conversation. That is considered eavesdropping and is illegal.

For those living in America, I would love to know how this is reflected in the law, so if you know  – post a comment.

In the end, if the verbal contract turns into a disagreement  and a ‘he said – she said scenario’, over who agreed to what, a judge will most likely agree to what was written and delivered to the other party.  If the other party does not respond, then what was laid out and received, is most likely the correct understanding of the agreement, or why didn’t the receiving party not bring up any changes or alterations to the only written version of it.

Bottom line is – “Always be careful what you say and agree to”.

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Orders for the FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – ebook will be available in 2009. Preorder now by contacting Info@Playdigm.com and for further information. (c) Tuey All Rights Reserved.