Licensing Compliance Associates, LLC.

Licensee Compliance Audits are both a necessary and vital part of maintaining the delicate licensor  / licensee  relationship. The primary goal is to identify early on in the contractual term if both parties are not only meeting their respective obligations, but more importantly to identify where opportunities are being missed to maximize both profits and the strength of the brand image being licensed. The information obtained during a royalty / licensing audit should provide a report card as the performance of the license and valuable information for both licensor and licensee. To simply focus on royalty calculation errors takes a myopic view which may result in short term monies but may erode the relationship over the long term. We make every effort to perform a comprehensive license review with the utmost sensitivity towards maintaining the business relationship.  

Expert Witness Testimony can become an invaluable service for both licensor and licensee in today's world ever increasing complex licensing agreements. The definition of a contractual term can widely differ from intent resulting in a violation which at times can not be resolved through negotiations, resulting in court actions. Many years of experience can prove to be a valuable asset trying to reach an expedient and victorious judgment.

Process and Procedure review along with the implementation of suggested improvements will result in far reaching benefits both internally to the organization, oftentimes resulting in an increase to company profits. As a licensing operation within an organization grows quite often the task of administering the day to day processes grow exponentially. This is quite common as an organization develops new business areas, enters into complex contracts with major licensors, has an influx of contracts from acquisitions, or at times due to explosive growth due to one or two "Hot Properties". By conducting an independent review of the company's processes and systems our extensive experience can provide efficient solutions resulting in enhanced analytical tools providing information to management enabling them to make profitable brand exploitation decisions. Improvement to processes include greater controls to ensure compliance with complex contractual terms, procedural changes to safeguard monies, new software system choices and / or existing system enhancements. Implementing process changes may result in the unexpected benefits of improved employee morale and reduced employee turnover.   

Software System Evaluation & Project Management are time consuming complex tasks which in most instances can not be handled by the existing staff of the lean running organization. To properly ascertain the functionality of a software product needed to process complex transactions and maintain the data germane to a specific organization requires familiarity with a multitude of applications along with an ability to determine if the application meets the current and future requirements. Once a choice is established, the process of implementing the software package can be a daunting task best left to an experienced professional who can dedicate the necessary resources to ensure that all milestones are met. We can provide these services cost effectively while enabling your company to continue in their day to day operations without disruption.   

Contract Review and Negotiation is an area where an experienced, independent, third party can detect contractual omissions and errors which can be potentially detrimental to both licensee and licensor in the long term. While in the enthusiastic environment during the contract development process key contractual terms can be overlooked resulting in unanticipated consequences. A detailed contractual review prior to execution can avoid a myriad of pitfalls and pave the way for a long term positive relationship between licensor and licensee while avoiding potential contract misinterpretation oftentimes resulting in costly litigation.