No easy licensing deals

[AlexM]

How hard can it be? Company A calls company B and boom, a license is signed. I've never seen it.

After initial contact is made, a contract comes in. That's when negotiations start. Of course, both sides want to put together a deal that benefits them the most. So, after making sure the person who sent the contract did not include phrases like "we own everything for one dollar," a counter-proposal is submitted. Lawyers and agents representing both parties discuss things with their clients. And everyone hurries up and waits. Sometimes, things are delayed, sometimes talks break down, sometimes, one or both sides will not budge on certain "deal breakers."

Another draft of the contract comes in. Some changes are good, other "bad" things are still there and perhaps a new wrinkle or two. Back to talking to your agent and lawyers. I've read that in Hollywood, the deals are so complicated that they can take longer to do than the actual movie.

And it doesn't matter who you are dealing with. No contract is going to come in that you can sign, not the first version anyway.

Why am I telling you this? Well, licensing should be easy, shouldn't it? I mean, it shouldn't take more than a month or two, right? Nope. That is why patience is a virtue, because you really have no alternative but to keep the lines of communications open and wait. That's how it really goes folks.



Alex Marciniszyn


P.S.

All of our game lines are available for licensing.