Invention licensing occurs when a company or individual agrees to pay you for permission to make, market and distribute your invention. The amount and terms of payment vary.
The Profits
A company or individual will be interested in licensing your invention if they can see a potential profit.
There are a number of factors that are considered when determining profitability.
The basic consideration is whether your invention can be manufactured and marketed at a cost, and sold in sufficient volume for a price, that will generate a desired profit.
The Statistics
Most inventions are not commercially successful. It is less than 10% of patents. Among inventors who are successful, invention licensing represents less than 1% of patents.
The statistics are not encouraging.
Fiction & Facts
The failure rate is not entirely related to the inventions. It is best summarized by Ralph Waldo Emerson who said -
"Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door."
Emerson was a literary scholar but he was not an inventor nor was he involved in invention licensing. The world does not beat a path to your door.
The world will only come to your door when your path is paved in gold - and that requires a bit of work.
You will need to convince others of the profitability of your invention. If you can do that - by using various tools - then your chances for licensing are far greater.
Not every potential licensing situation is the same and different strategies are used depending on the situation.
Words of Wisdom
"A famous quotation stated that if you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door. That is not true, unless you are a good salesman as well as a good inventor" - Marcian (Ted) Hoff, inventor of the microprocessor.