Adult/erotic Toy Licensing?, How is this done? Options

[babu_bot]

I know about toy and technology licensing for mainstream products, but I'm curious.... How does one go about getting an Adult/Erotic toy product licensed?

Who does one got to? Is this industry even open to this kind of licensing?

[glorys9]

I wouldn't suppose that it would be any different than any other type of licensing for inventions. Why would it be? Just because its an adult-erotic toy wouldnt make a difference, its still an invention/innovation, etc.
Personally, I would think that this had to be true because of all the adult toys on the market!

Glorys9

[eddie]

An invention is usually licensed to manufacturers of a particular product.
If you find the manufacturers of such adult product and if you have a patent you can contact them.

[babu_bot]

Actually Glorys9, there are some differences in the Adult Toy industry as opposed to the mainstream toy industry. For one, adult toys are generally created after the name of a famous pornstar, almost exclusively if you figure in the overall percentage, whereas most toys on the mainstream market are just there with little to no buzz or fanfare.

Also, whereas other industries may have hundreds of competing manufacturers, the adult toy industry does not. The adult toy industry makes a lot of money and its shared by the small handful of companies that are in the industry.

To Eddie, I realize that contacting an adult company CAN be done, however I'm pretty sure that this is not enough since its not that easy in any other industry. Its not as if someone can just call Hasbro and get them to look at their invention. You need someone who has a connection to the inside (a recognized agent) or you can buy space and travel out to the Toy Fairs and exhibitions to show off your inventions.

Also, a patent is not always necessary before showing an invention to most manufacturers, neither does having a patent make your invention more desirable to manufacturers since all they care about is 1. whether or not the invention is going to fit into their line and 2. If it has a high possibility of selling. Off the top of my head, I think less than 2% of all patented inventions ever make one red cent in the marketplace. Makes you think even more when we remember that many of the most successful products of all time are not patented, like as Coca-Cola.

I know that in the regular toy industry, pretty much all of the companies don't care if you have a patent one way or the other, but they make sure that an invention comes through a recognized agent, so it not only cuts down on submissions but it also makes sure they are protected legally because everything is kept confidential through the agents processes.

Most Toy companies will even pay for your patent once they have given you a licensing deal on that product. The only thing is that the company name will be headlined in the records, but you will be named as the inventor so that's okay.

I think if I attempted to patent every invention I've ever come up with, I would need all the money in the world, literally, and then I would have to use that money to build the highest powered rocket ship in all of the universe just so I could go to other planets and borrow more money from all of them to fund my patent costs... I'm not kidding.

I think most inventors do not invent very many things, most just have one good idea (or at least they think its good) for their entire life and run with it, never coming up with anything else. Then you have the very few people who just invent like its a normal bodily function. It's really hilarious when I read things on the net about inventors who have invented something 10-20 years ago and are frustrated because they aren't making millions like they know they should be, lol. I mean, for goodness sake, just come up with something else, lol!

Never make an invention your baby, keep your mind open and ready for more ideas, and diversify and in order to do that you've gotta study and research other genres. I personally invent in every category there is, and it helps me to stay well rounded so that I can maximize my possibilities.

I ask the adult toy question because it doesn't seem to be a very accessible industry. I've yet to see or hear of any agents of this industry which is a good indicator of its difficulty. The whole industry seems like an "insiders only" situation.

I'll keep searching for information on it though...