An Executive Voices Blog by Brian Fried, Inventor Consultant & Product Licensing Agent

There’s a massive untapped opportunity sitting right in front of the licensing industry—the inventor community. While we excel at placing beloved brand properties on products, the real competitive advantage lies in combining recognizable properties with genuinely innovative, patented products that create entirely new categories.

Today’s inventors aren’t garage tinkerers; they’re sophisticated innovators armed with patent protection, market validation, and professional development resources. They understand IP value and typically arrive with patent pending status or issued utility patents protecting functionality and design patents protecting appearance.

However, inventors can approach brands at vastly different stages of development. Some may present just an idea in their head, requiring guidance that further development and patent protection should be their next steps before returning. Others arrive with CAD engineered drawings, 3D printed prototypes, or homemade models ready for evaluation. Still others have already started manufacturing and discovered how challenging it can be to generate sales, while some are selling well but looking for the next level partnership with brand visibility to enhance their sales potential.

But here’s their critical challenge—most inventors can’t meet the qualification requirements that brand owners demand. They lack the manufacturing credentials, sales history, and established retail relationships that brands require before licensing their valuable IP. This is precisely where the licensing industry’s existing infrastructure becomes invaluable.

Consider this scenario: an inventor creates a revolutionary can opener and dreams of featuring a popular beer brand. When they contact the brand directly, they’re redirected to find the manufacturer who already licenses that brand for barware. Most inventors have no idea how to identify or approach these manufacturers. But brand licensing agencies, and even manufacturers themselves, are perfectly positioned to make these connections.

The structure is straightforward—the manufacturer becomes licensee to both the inventor’s patent and the brand’s IP. Revenue generates royalties to both licensors while the manufacturer gains exclusive access to differentiated products that command premium pricing. For brand licensing agencies, facilitating these connections positions them as heroes who’ve discovered new revenue opportunities for both their brand clients and manufacturing partners, strengthening relationships while expanding the business potential of existing licenses.

A patented snack container I developed illustrates this perfectly. I licensed my innovation to a manufacturer who already held rights to Sesame Street and several Nickelodeon properties. The resulting products featured Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on my innovative containers. This wasn’t just another licensed product—it was a new category that succeeded on function, brand appeal, and market differentiation simultaneously.

Manufacturers constantly battle commoditization. Adding logos to standard products provides limited differentiation when consumers have countless options and price competition erodes margins. But combining beloved brand properties with patented innovations creates products that justify premium pricing and generate consumer loyalty. Brand owners benefit too. Instead of licensing their IP for yet another commodity item, they’re part of innovative products that enhance their brand’s reputation for quality and innovation.

The most promising inventors frequent industry trade shows, maintain active profiles in patent databases, and participate in inventor networking groups. Local inventor clubs are goldmines of innovation, often hosting inventors working on products directly relevant to your brand portfolios. University technology transfer offices house inventors seeking commercial partnerships, while patent attorneys and industrial designers serve as excellent referral sources for quality innovations with proper IP protection.

Don’t overlook startup communities and innovation hubs where inventors often showcase new products. Trade shows specific to your industry categories can reveal inventors developing products that align perfectly with your existing brand relationships.

I’ve been working with companies to establish formal submission processes for inventor partnerships, particularly those that don’t already have open innovation submission programs in place. Working alongside their legal teams, we establish terms and requirements that I help put in place to make it fair for both inventors and manufacturers to come to terms while setting mutual understanding.

Many manufacturers prefer inventors with issued patents rather than just patent pending status, ensuring the innovation has survived the USPTO examination process without rejection risk. This provides confidence in the IP’s validity and enforceability.

However, managing inventor expectations upfront is crucial.

From my experience guiding inventors through this process, many initially expect high percentage royalty rates without understanding the multiple layers involved. When you explain that brand owners, inventors, manufacturers, and retailers all need to earn while still maintaining a price the customer is willing to pay for that product, inventors appreciate the transparency. This is why many inventors reach that fork in the road where they must decide to potentially license their invention to a manufacturer in the relative industry to earn royalties, or manufacture and sell themselves—usually entering the market through eCommerce channels.

Here’s where the licensing industry’s existing relationships become the game-changer. Inventors struggle to meet brand qualification requirements individually, but established manufacturers in licensing networks already possess these credentials.

Brand licensing agencies can introduce inventors to qualified manufacturers, eliminating the biggest obstacle preventing these partnerships. Manufacturers gain access to innovations that differentiate their product lines while brands become associated with cutting-edge products rather than commodity items.

The mechanics follow familiar licensing principles. The manufacturer licenses both the inventor’s patent and the brand’s IP, with clear royalty structures for each licensor. Brand licensing agencies can facilitate these arrangements using their existing expertise in licensing negotiations and manufacturer relationships. Initial conversations with inventors should focus on patent protection strength, market validation data, and production requirements. This information helps identify which manufacturer relationships and brand properties offer the best fit.

Manufacturers are actively seeking differentiation beyond brand placement, while brand owners want their IP associated with quality and innovation, and inventors need access to established manufacturing and distribution channels. The licensing industry sits at the perfect intersection to orchestrate these partnerships.

The infrastructure already exists—established manufacturer relationships, brand partnerships, and licensing expertise. The missing piece is proactive cultivation of inventor relationships and recognition that these partnerships represent the future of strategic licensing. Those who act first will find themselves leading a new era where innovation and recognition combine to create exceptional products that dominate their categories.

Brian Fried is a resource for the independent inventor and the brand licensing industry to educate, connect, and match new innovative products with new or established brands. https://brianfried.com/