We at BeHeron have often stressed the importance of creative marketing, especially during the current financial downturn. Why you ask? Distinguishing your brand from every other brand in the industry, while maintaining your value proposition, allows you to maximize potential revenue. How creative you ask? Well, check out the new ad campaign for Korean Air. What a clever use of “Tiffany Blue”, a trademarked color associated with the luxury brand Tiffanys & Co. What does Korean Air try to convey you ask? Their airline distinguishes itself from all other airlines in its class by focusing on a luxury image that most people recognize. They also take advantage of the fact that air travel has nothing to do with luxury jewelry. In this way, they are able to reduce or avoid trademark licensing costs. For us at BeHeron, it may not be the best ad out there, but it sure grabbed our attention, enough that even us might be tempted to just give Korean Air a try.

A couple of days ago, we at BeHeron talked about getting your product instant street cred by signing a license deal with a well-known company. Today, we thought we would talk about the things you should pay attention to, if you are interested in going forward with a license.

There are quite a few sample license agreements on-line that you can use, such as the one from Yale University, or the one available on findlaw.com. However, to be fully protected by a license deal, one must make sure the agreement you entered into is in your best interest. Not all agreements are created equal. Most legal problems are often a result of over-simplification during the initial drafting process. Know what you want first before attempting to put it into words.

Several interesting points to consider before coming up with your individualized agreement: (1) Have you limited your liability in this agreement? Have you considered possible legal action and how you are going to deal with it? (2) Have you considered how royalties will be paid? Do you have a way to measure the royalties to be paid? (3) Have you considered how the usage will be monitored? How would you monitor the every day usage of the license to ensure that your license is not being infringed by a third party?

The list is of course not exhaustive. When all else fails, remember, there are plenty of licensing professionals in your area. Not only will they connect you to the right company and brand, they will also help you with the day to day management.

We at BeHeron like to throw you a little twist from time to time to make a point, and today is no different. Your invention or new product may not always be the easiest to market, but there are ways around this problem. One key tool that any new product can use to gain instant market “cred” is a licensing deal.

Now we believe the perfect example is laptops from NEC. Laptops are nothing new and NEC is not a market leader either. However, they have found a way to enter a lucrative market niche via licensing. Put your hands together for the all new Hello Kitty Laptop! Now this may not be your cup of tea, but we would bet you our next pay check that NEC is going to make a killing off of this idea.

A few weeks ago, we at BeHeron overheard a news story on the radio about wireless power and how it would revolutionize power distribution. Well we were definitely intrigued, but we had a few questions. Is this the same technology as a 1988 mechanical toothbrush? You know, the kind that charges the battery simply by placing it in the stand, but without any metal-to-metal connections. Or is this truly revolutionary technology in which enables your entire house to be wire free?

Well, as usual, the truth is somewhere inbetween. Ecoupled Technology offers the same inductively coupled power supply that your old toothbrush had, but with an added twist. One of the problem with previous inductively coupled power was that the power supply always supplied the same amount of power no matter the need. The eCoupled system monitors the device being charged and supplies the correct amount of energy required. This enables you to have charging stations for your home electronics. The bonus is that you can charge multiple items at the same time. Just think of placing your camera, Ipod, and toaster on a small charging pad at the same time, and not haveing to worry about overcharging or providing the correct charging adapter. It works by a simple communication device embedded in each device being charged. See the video below and tell us what you think. One day we could see this technology (or something like it) everywhere.

Early this year we kicked off our site by introducing you to a company called Solar Electrical Vehicles, today, on the day of our unofficial relaunch, we bring you back to the topic of solar power and cars. Why? Not because we love cars, or solar power, but because we are noticing a trend that simply cannot be ignored by any entrepreneur. Hybrid electric, full electric, and solar power is going mainstream faster than the mass media would like to admit. Why? Because hardware costs, sales prices, and operational costs are all converging faster than a bee to honey.

We had the pleasure to visit the Solar Power International Conference in San Diego and there we were happily introduced to the Fisker Karma. This car is more expensive than the modified Toyota Prius that SEV offered; however, it shows what can be built when designed for the explicit purpose of being a solar hybrid. Soon we will see the Tesla Roadster and GM Volt. All of these new product launches are hinting at what is about to come. The question is, who will design the improvements and invent the accessories to this burgeoning industry?

Fisker Karma

Tesla Roadster

GM Volt

Hi everybody! We are back and running, and better than ever. Today, we introduce to you our new and updated website. Don't worry, BeHeron.com will still have some of the features you may love, such as daily blogs, tips of the day, and an inventor/entrepreneur discussion forum. But it will also have additional features such as an RSS feed; the blog rating system for you to let us know what topics you are finding interesting; comment pages for you to let us know your thoughts on a particular topic; and an upgraded forum. In any case, feel free to look around, make yourself comfortable. If you have any suggestions, always feel free to contact us at admin@BeHeron.com. We'd love to hear from you!

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