Successfully run the licensing gauntlet to jump-start your NFL coffee mug business.
If the world of intellectual property law has as much allure for you as football, getting into the NFL logo coffee mug business could score you more than a goal. There's money to be made selling team-related goods, but be prepared to do more than an end run around the legal gauntlet required to get the National Football League to say yes to your proposal. Expect to run into myriad competitors already in the game. Try thinking more "Rudy" than "Dallas North Forty" when you launch your coffee mug business and you'll enjoy success season after season.
Instructions
1. Learn about the intricacies of product licensing before you commit to launching your NFL logo coffee mug business (see links). Understand the difference between a promotional mug design that features team colors and designs and mugs that bear the official logo of a team, right down to the trademark or register sign, indicating you have the right to use the art on your mugs.
2. Prepare to submit solid business credentials to the NFL as the league prefers to deal with manufacturers/distributors with at least three years' sales and marketing history. Prove you can pay minimum royalty fees for your NFL license ($100,000 in 2010) and that you're insured by a carrier with no less than an A- industry rating. Compile data on your company and principals in addition to audited financial statements and tax returns. Line up solid credit references.
3. Visit the NFL website (see link) once you've amassed the materials in Step 2 to complete the League's pre-qualification questions. Follow inquiry prompts to describe your objectives and strategies for placing logos on mugs. Importantly, explain how your NFL logo-embellished mugs will stand apart from competitors. A confirming e-mail will inform you that your query has been received.
4. Send a more detailed proposal to newproducts@nfl.com if league officials decide to take your idea to the next step. Outline the ways you'll approach retailers or handle direct sales of your NFL logo coffee mugs--website, national sporting trade shows, etc.---as "Under normal circumstances, a licensor will not grant a license to a business that does not have a retail distribution network in place," Entrepreneur.com says.
5. Anticipate a lengthy negotiation period to hammer out details of your arrangement if the NFL marketing team accepts your proposal. Fight for the longest licensing contract possible, as first-timers with no track record tend to get short-term licenses until the NFL sees how a line performs. Hire an intellectual property lawyer to vet your contract before you sign on the dotted line so no surprises await you at the end zone.
6. Choose a wholesale mug manufacturer or distributor after considering at least three. Compare minimum-buy requirements, delivery times, quality of work, pricing and return policies before you select one, keeping the second as a backup should you have any problems with your first choice. Send NFL team logo art with appropriate legal marks to the vendor, requesting samples of each before you go into production.
Tags: coffee business, logo coffee, intellectual property, least three, logo coffee business