LIMA education

Consider it continuing education for adults with careers centered specifically on all things licensing.

For licensing veterans and newcomers, The Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association (LIMA) is hosting a series of seminars created for professionals in the licensing industry; attorneys, particularly in the intellectual property and entertainment areas; financial and accounting professionals; and business executives who want to learn more about licensing and valuation.

The seminars will be held March 15-16 in New York at the Williams Club, and March 27-28 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

“For a potential licensee, if they are looking for a way to differentiate their product from everything else on the shelf, then putting a license on it sets it apart,” Charles Riotto, president of LIMA tells Playthings. “It's buying instant recognition.”

Thus, says Riotto, by attending the LIMA seminars, licensees can get a feel for what licenses will work for their products and how to evaluate licenses. “Plus, there are a lot contacts [at the seminars].”

For converse reasons, those new at playing the role of licensor can determine the value of their license and the legal ramifications of a licensing agreement.

“The licensing agreement is the backbone of the industry,” says Riotto. “What the royalties are, knowing all aspects of an agreement—getting [the agreement] right is the most important aspect in all of the licensing.”

The contact and interaction outside of an individual's primary business can often be a major benefit of attending such seminars, as sometimes a manufacturer's sight becomes myopic when concentrating only on that specific business, according to some licensing business veterans.

“There are so many different business models,” says Steve Stanley, presenter of the seminar, “Best Practices in Launching and Administering a Licensing Program,” and vice president of Disguise Inc., Poway, Calif., “I tell people sometimes you have to stop and get out of the rat race and get away from running your business on a regular basis. You have to step away and look and listen to how others are doing business. A lot of things you overlook daily will become evident when you hear and see how other people approach the same problems.”

The four sessions to be offered at the New York and Los Angeles locations include:

Valuing Licensing Properties—This program will focus on how to properly evaluate properties for both transactional and accounting purposes. Moderators: Allen Feldman, LMCA (New York), Chris Ross LMCA (Calif.).

Best Practices in Launching and Administering a Licensing Program—This program will address the mechanics of launching and administering a program from both the licensor and licensee perspective. Moderators: Joshua Kislevitz, United Media Enterprises (New York); Steve Stanley, Disguise Inc. (Calif.).

Anatomy of a License Agreement—The fourth edition of one of LIMA's most popular programs, this includes an in-depth study of the intellectual property license agreement on a clause-by-clause basis. Moderators: Gregory Battersby, Grimes & Battersby (New York); David Rosenbaum, Law Offices of David Rosenbaum (Calif.).

Perfecting Your Negotiation Skills—A seminar presented by SAB Negotiation Enterprises, a group of negotiation trainers and teachers of the skill at Harvard. Attendees will learn the importance of negotiation skills in licensing and how to improve them.

For more information visit www.licensing.org.