This book is not about the invention process. This book is not about protecting your invention. And this book is not for venturers (unless they think they might want to peek over the fence to see if the grass really is greener on the other side). This book is for people who do own intellectual property and who want to reduce their risks and protect their interests while benefiting from letting other people benefit from that intellectual property too.

The book first walks you through some basic definitions, such as who the licensor is (you), then lays out the licensing process and briefly bounces through some of the pitfalls that can get you into trouble, such as prior agreements, state laws, and co-inventors, before launching into a clause by clause discussion of a thorough license agreement.

Mr. Stim does a pretty good job specifying soundly constructed clauses that build into a complete licensing agreement which is also included on a PC compatible 3 1/2" floppy diskette that you can use to create your own agreement. And any license agreement that you might build from the provided information should be solid enough for most situations. But, as Mr. Stim, an attorney, cautions, there are plenty of other possible clauses that could be included in a licensing agreement but are not even touched in the book. The book sticks to material for its intended audience -- the average inventor that needs a basic licensing agreement.

After reading License Your Invention you will know enough to probably get by doing your own license agreement -- and many inventors do with no problems -- but you will also be well equipped to talk over your specific situation with an attorney and judge when you might need more advanced clauses than are covered. If you are at all interested in licensing your invention this book is an essential for your personal library where you can refer to it again and again.