Westport, CT – Greg Battersby and Danny Simon, long-time licensing veterans, Licensing International’s Licensing Hall of Fame members, and previously published authors of a wide range of licensing books, have launched their latest licensing work, entitled Fundamentals of Licensing which s a how-to book on how to conceive, develop, and manage a licensing program from start to finish to obtain maximum profitability. It is targeted at both novices and licensing veterans alike.

The book, which the relevant trade association, Licensing International, endorses, includes contributions from more than 20 veterans of the licensing industry, including three former Licensing International Chairpersons, Woody Browne, Peter Van Raalte, and Carole Francesca; Licensing International’s president, Maura Regan; and a host of Industry veterans such as Francesca Ash of Total Licensing, Roger Berman of Zen Works, Steve

Fuller of USC, Steven Heller of The Brand Liaison, Arlene Scanlan of Moxie, Matt Holt of the NBA, Vince Leoni of Miller Kaplan, Marty Malysz of Dependable Solutions, Andrew Schenkel of Double Play Agency, Menal McGrath of Dan Dee, and Ray Uhlir of LMCA. Kent Press has published the book, which is available now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Review copies are available.

The book also encompasses a variety of relevant subjects, including data privacy, artificial intelligence, cyber liability, social media issues, retail consolidation, and a valuable table of royalty rates. Included as downloadable material is an extensive library of licensing forms and agreements and a PowerPoint presentation on The History of Licensing.

Relevant chapters include:

· The State of the Licensing Industry, Today and Tomorrow

· Selecting, Clearing, and Protecting a Licensing Property

· The Licensor/Licensee Relationship

· The License Agreement and Royalty Rates

· Best Practices in Licensing Administration

· Licensing Agents and Consultants

· The Role of the Retailer

· Infringements and Counterfeiting

· Accounting & Tax Issues

Industry vets are applauding the book, writing:

“Fundamentals of Licensing is an excellent guide to every facet of the Industry. The book is clear-eyed, thoroughly informative, and insightful. It is a gem of a resource and will likely be the most valuable book/tool in your library. Highly recommended; the content simply over-delivers.” Dan Romanelli Founder & former President Warner Bros. Consumer Products for 23 Years.

“Regardless of where you are in your career, Fundamentals of Licensing is a tool that should be on your desk. I have used Greg & Danny’s books during my career as a resource for answers on licensing issues such as Royalty Rates or to obtain the latest templates for contracts. It’s wonderful to have a sourcebook for licensing questions all in one place.” Maura Regan President Licensing International.

“Fundamentals of Licensing” has been an invaluable resource to our team in managing the licensing rights to BETTY BOOP and the other Fleischer Studios characters. Its comprehensiveness has armed us with information and knowledge not otherwise available regarding the myriad product categories endemic to licensing. The book’s up-to-date information enables us to conduct business confidently.” Mark Fleischer President, Fleischer Studios.

Print editions are available in Paperback and Hardcover at $32.95 and $52.95, respectively, and a Kindle edition at $27.95. An audio edition will soon be available.

About Greg Battersby
Gregory J. Battersby is the managing member of The Battersby Law Group, an intellectual property law firm in Westport, CT. He has over 50 years of experience in patents, trademarks, and licensing law. He was previously a partner in Grimes & Battersby, associated with two major NYC IP law firms, and as Senior IP Counsel at Gulf & Western Industries (now Viacom), the then-owner of Paramount Pictures. He served as General Counsel for Licensing International for almost 25 years, was a member of its Executive Committee, and is a Licensing Hall of Fame member—the only practicing attorney ever inducted. He has been designated a “Super Lawyer” for Intellectual Property matters every year since its inception in 2006. Greg has written over 60 books on licensing and IP topics, including the two-volume, seminal book on merchandising, The Law of Merchandise & Character Licensing, published by Thomson Reuters/West. He turned his passion for baseball into a business, having invented a computerized video baseball pitching simulator that received 13 U.S. patents and runs ProBatter Sports (www.probatter.com), which manufactures and sells these simulators to customers, including MLB teams, colleges, and commercial facilities.

About Danny Simon
Danny Simon is a forty-plus-year licensing industry veteran with expertise in all phases of the merchandising and licensing process. Having built the licensing divisions for Lorimar Productions, 20th Century Fox, and Carolco Pictures. In 1992, he opened The Licensing Group in Los Angeles, CA, pioneering entertainment licensing focusing on the teen+ market. Beginning with the television program DALLAS, he was among the first to license adult, prime-time television entertainment, and with DYNASTY, he was the first to apply branding techniques to television shows. He also developed successful licensing programs for M*A*S*H, Fall Guy, Alf, Rambo, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Mortal Kombat, Baywatch, U.S. Secret Service, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and David Hasselhoff. He has also succeeded in film development. With MORTAL KOMBAT, he produced the first-ever film adaptation of a video game. He’s a partner in an entertainment development company that sold the rights to the MATT HELM book series to DreamWorks and Paramount, where it is currently in development as a motion picture. Danny taught a licensing course at UCLA. He’s a founding member of LIMA (now LI) and has been its president, a two-time member of its Board, and a member of its Licensing Hall of Fame. With Greg Battersby, he developed and serves as Co-Dean of LI’s Certificate of Licensing Studies (“CLS”) program.

About Kent Press
Kent Press is an imprint of Kent Communications Ltd., a CT-based publisher specializing in licensing and intellectual property topics and some specialty topics. It publishes Licensing Tales, The Business of Licensing, and The Language of Licensing and will release a new book entitled The Licensee Survival Handbook in the spring of 2025. Kent Press has also published a sports book, Practice Like You Play, and a humor book, A Smart Man Wouldn’t Have Thought of That. It had previously published The Toy & Game Inventor’s Guide, A Primer on Licensing, Licensee Survival Guide, Guide to License Artwork, Trademarks for Entrepreneurs, and the Essentials of Technology and Patent Licensing.