America’s SBDC Blog
A “Forbes 100 Best Websites for Entrepreneurs”
Success Story: Illinois
Blind Chef Restaurant Startup
Illinois SBDC at NORBIC
SBDC Advisor – Andrew Fogaty
SBDC Client – Chef Laura Martinez, La Diosa Restaurant
Chef Laura Martinez was born in Mexico and has been completely blind since infancy. She learned to love cooking in her grandmother’s kitchen and years later, through hard work and determination, became the first blind student at Chicago’s prestigious Le Cordon Bleu.
Shortly after graduation, while serving an internship at an area non-profit, local celebrity Chef Charlie Trotter tasted her cooking and immediately offered her a job in his restaurant.
Chef Martinez thrived in the position until August of 2012, when Trotter closed the restaurant and she found herself unemployed. (more…)
To License or Assign: An Intellectual Property Conundrum
By Mrigrank Mishra
As a small business owner with intellectual property (IP), you have to leverage your assets to work for you. We have talked a number of times about the importance of protecting your IP and the necessary steps to achieve that end. The next step involves making the IP generate capital in more ways than just product sales. You may at times need to enter into an agreement with a third party with respect to that intellectual property. There are a number of different types of agreements that affect IP.
Assignment
Just like tangible property, intellectual property can be conveyed, or assigned, to a new owner. If you are selling your business, you will need to convey the associated intellectual property to the new owner. Assigning IP entails transferring all rights associated with it to the assignee. You cannot then use the IP and claim creating it originally as a defense against infringement. Furthermore you cannot resell the same IP to another person if specifically mentioned in the agreement. Another scenario involving possible assignment is in the case of infringement. In many such cases, as part of a settlement, the party infringing the IP will be made to assign any rights it accrued to the rightful owner.
License Agreements
All types of IP can be assigned to others to use. With respect to patents, for instance, the inventor often never manufacturers anything. Instead, they license the patent to third parties to manufacture the product. They then collect licensing fees and, most likely, goes on to patent their next invention, repeating the process as much as possible. These agreements control how the licensor can use the IP, stipulate the fees associated with the license (if any), and assure that all use by the licensor inures to the benefit of the licensee. (more…)
Success Story: Alaska
SBDC Client Wins State Business Plan Competition
Alaska, Juneau SBDC
Ian Grant, Counselor
Coppa, SBDC client since 2013
“The business planning tools and Ian’s real-world experience were both hugely beneficial to our business planning efforts” – Marc Wheeler, owner of Coppa
Impact of working with an SBDC: Coppa worked with the AKSBDC on the business plan and financials which won first place in the state’s largest business plan competition. Additionally, Wheeler continues to work with Grant who has years of experience running a similar food business in Juneau.
Read the whole story, and learn more about the Alaska SBDC and Coppa.
IP Strategy For Startups
By Emily Ely
Developing a solid intellectual property (IP) strategy is essential for emerging companies preparing for market entrance. Various forms of IP can usually be found in company’s portfolio and identifying these assets based on business goals and assumed future opportunities are at the core of that strategy. The following are a few tips to keep in mind to improve your IP strategy for startups.
Questions to think about when establishing an initial IP strategy:
• Who owns the fundamental technology in your space – i.e. who are the key organizations filing and buying patents in your market segment and what are they working on?
• Where are the opportunities for strategic growth, investment, or licensing within your field?
• How rapidly is new innovation taking place in your space?
• Where are the new and emerging technologies being developed in your space?
• Which patents are the most valuable for your products?
• Do your customers value IP to demonstrate they are purchasing innovative products? (more…)