How would you call this?

**Silverion** · 08-09-2008 03:43 AM

Hello Everyone,

I want to know if anyone knows the technical term or phrase to name the next operation:

"A company accepts to develop one of my ideas. They pay me upfront an amount for doing so. They develop the product and sell it. We divide the profits."

How would you call that operation (technical term)?

**meaghannf** · 08-09-2008 04:36 AM

So, basically you are trying to sell an idea. This is an incredibly difficult thing to do. What you might consider, so you have a bit more room to negotiate, is to patent your idea. Then, the phrasing you might use would be something along the lines of "looking for a company to develop my patented idea." Unless you can prove you are absolutely essential to the project and that you have a strong business plan for the idea, it's unlikely you will find someone to do that for you.

That may be why there isn't really a good technical term for it!

**Aletheides** · 08-09-2008 04:56 AM

I've never heard of a technical term for that either, probably because it doesn't work.

**sonnyrizo** · 08-09-2008 12:07 PM

I don't know the technical term, but I know of a similar operation (not the same, similar). With Hulu (a self-publisher), you submit your work (let's say a book) to them, and they sell it. You split profit.

**RLorenzen** · 08-09-2008 01:31 PM

You won't sell an idea (or at least not to a savvy business professional). Ideas do not have quantifiable monetary value. Your best shot would be getting a patent on the idea, but even then it will be hard to determine the value.

**StealYourDreams** · 08-09-2008 01:43 PM

Originally Posted by Silverion

Hello Everyone,

I want to know if anyone knows the technical term or phrase to name the next operation:

"A company accepts to develop one of my ideas. They pay me upfront an amount for doing so. They develop the product and sell it. We divide the profits."

How would you call that operation (technical term)?

Sounds to me like you're looking to license not only the product but the product development and recieve royalties.

**Silverion** · 08-09-2008 03:45 PM

Hey everyone, thanks for your input. However in this thread I am really looking for the closest technical term and not the thoughts around the actual operation. That is because I already took care of all the details regarding the idea. I am not going to sell the company my idea. They are going to pay me an upfront amount for letting them develop the idea. Then they will sell the finished product and we will divide the profits. I am going to ask an upfront payment because I can. My idea can make $100 million at the least and if it is sold as a long term contract, I and the company that I accept to develop the idea, could be looking at billions of dollars in annual dividends. The NDA´s are already in place and I already finished wiriting the document with the details of the project. I made this thread to see if anyone could give me the term, in order to rephrase one of paragraphs of the proposal to make it more clear in regards to the conditions they need to accept to produce my idea.

**Silverion** · 08-09-2008 03:52 PM

Originally Posted by StealYourDreams

Sounds to me like you're looking to license not only the product but the product development and recieve royalties.

Thanks for that SYD. However I believe that is what I am going at the second stage of the project, once the product is ready to launch. I am looking for a term that defines better the condition of getting an upfront payment as a "buy in" (for the interested company) into the project. That without forgetting the other 3 sentences in the paragraph I mentioned. I don´t mind if it is more than one technical term.

**matt_15** · 08-09-2008 04:24 PM

You are looking at selling ownership of IP. Talk to YE member "innovativeone" he is an intellectual property specialist and he is the best person to get help from.