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    Becoming a licensee – the journey


    Philips LED Luminaires and Retrofit bulbs Licensing Program is aimed at companies selling LED Luminaires or LED retrofits under their own brand. You might think that becoming a licensee is a long complicated process, but it is actually much easier than you think. In this blog we explain the process in detail, explaining clearly what you need to do to become a licensee and the journey we take together.

    What are the main steps?
     

    1. Meet with Philips IP Licensing representative
      One of our licensing specialists will be assigned to your company so you have a personal contact with Philips. This contact person will explain the Program in detail and answer any questions you may have.

    2. Portfolio Analysis
      We work with you to determine which of your products are relevant and require a license.

    3. Choose between the Flat Rate and Itemized approach for the payment of royalties (the fees for use of Philips patented technologies) and sign the Patent License agreement
       

    Let’s look at the process in more detail.

    Introductory meeting

    Our licensing specialists operate globally and are ready to answer all your questions. With offices in various cities around the world, our licensing specialists can speak to you in your time zone and often in your native language. They will work with you at every step in the journey, so you can quickly start using our patented technologies.
    After establishing a first direct contact with you, we set up an introductory meeting. This meeting addresses what the licensing program covers and how it relates to your products. This meeting provides you with information on:

    • the IP&S organisation
    • the Licensing program
    • the benefits of a Philips license
    • the relevant IP rights and their relationship with LED luminaires or retrofits
    • Q&A and next steps

     

    Even when there is no relevance for your company to take a license at that moment, we still make sure you understand the program correctly as it may have relevance in the future if you start using new technologies or enter new markets.
     

    Following the initial meeting, if further more detailed discussions are required, we agree on next steps.

    Portfolio Analysis

    During this phase we take a detailed look at your products. In some cases, we may need to reverse engineer the products. This is performed by us and the findings are shared with you. Once we have agreed that there is relevance for a number of products, we begin the license agreement discussions.
     

    This is the most time consuming part of the licensing process, but the more time, information and attention that you can provide during this phase the faster it will go

    Sign Patent License agreement

    Flat rate agreements are the most common and are typically signed for a two years period. We examine all the products and markets and agree on a weighted average royalty rate taking into consideration the patent coverage in the countries in which you assemble and sell your products. In these agreements, an annex lists all the licensed brands.
     

    After the initial two year period, we take another look at the whole branded luminaire/retrofit portfolio and, if necessary, negotiate a new rate. The advantage of this model is that it involves less paperwork and provides access to all the 200+ patented inventions in the program during the two years of the agreement.
     

    Itemized agreements list all products that need a license instead of the brands. This model provides a license only to the products listed in the agreement. This means that any new product developed after the agreement is signed needs to be analysed separately.

    Conclusion

    As you can see, the process for joining the Philips LED Luminaires and Retrofit bulbs Licensing Program is very simple and straightforward. So if you are thinking about selling LED Luminaires or LED retrofits under your own brand, contact us and take the first step on the journey to become a licensee.
     

    In order to protect the confidential information that is exchanged between the parties prior to concluding the license agreement, a mutual, two-sided Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) will be signed.