Reading sequence
Earning from or sharing your work
For deciding what you want your work to do and understanding the arrangement that makes it possible. Free sharing and earning are both legitimate choices.
The sequence
- 10 questions before you try to earn from or share your IP
Before you license, sell or give away your work, check the assumptions you are bringing to the deal. Ten questions, with direct answers.
- What do you want your work to do for you?
Decide what you want a piece of work to do for you before you weigh any offer: then choose to use it yourself, license it, sell it or share it openly.
- Licensing your work and selling your rights
You can give someone room to use your work without treating every arrangement as an outright sale.
- The terms that decide how a deal will feel later
The clause that matters most may be the one that answers an ordinary question about next year.
- Following the money in a royalty deal
Compare royalty offers by following one sale through each contract to the money that reaches you, not by comparing the percentages.
- The work after a deal is signed
Turn a signed license into a routine: a one-page summary, both sides' duties on a list, statements checked on arrival, every change in writing, and dated reminders for renewal and ending.
Optional side paths
Every article in this section
10 questions before you try to earn from or share your IP
Before you license, sell or give away your work, check the assumptions you are bringing to the deal. Ten questions, with direct answers.
What do you want your work to do for you?
Decide what you want a piece of work to do for you before you weigh any offer: then choose to use it yourself, license it, sell it or share it openly.
Licensing your work and selling your rights
You can give someone room to use your work without treating every arrangement as an outright sale.
The terms that decide how a deal will feel later
The clause that matters most may be the one that answers an ordinary question about next year.
Following the money in a royalty deal
Compare royalty offers by following one sale through each contract to the money that reaches you, not by comparing the percentages.
What might your IP be worth
A valuation is only as good as its reasoning. Pin down what is being valued, by which method, and for what decision before you trust or quote a number.
Sharing your work openly on purpose
A free download does not tell anyone what they may do with your work. Pick the Creative Commons license that matches the uses you want, license only what you control, and mark it so the permission travels with the work.
The work after a deal is signed
Turn a signed license into a routine: a one-page summary, both sides' duties on a list, statements checked on arrival, every change in writing, and dated reminders for renewal and ending.
What happens to IP when a business is sold or someone dies
Hand over the rights, the paperwork and the promises, not just the files: find who owns each right, list every license, sign the transfer and record it.
Can IP help you get financing
IP can back a loan or support an investment, but a lender lends against what it could recover, not against what the IP is worth to you.