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Born to License
Unlock the secrets of the $350 billion licensing industry with David Born, CEO of Born Licensing & Born to License. Whether you’re a business owner, brand enthusiast, or curious about how your favorite characters and brands make their way onto products, this podcast is your ultimate guide to the world of licensing.
Join David as he shares insider stories, practical tips, and real-world examples, helping you navigate the exciting intersection of creativity, commerce, and collaboration. From product development to pitching, licensing terminology to success stories—get ready to discover the untapped potential of this dynamic industry.
New episodes every two weeks.
Born to License
Coming Monday: Why 95% of Licensees Fail Their First Audit
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Preview our conversation with David Schnider, the licensing attorney who's seen it all. From Top Gun's million-dollar success to Disney audit disasters, discover the legal landmines hiding in every licensing contract.
In this preview:
✓ The $100,000 transfer fee surprise
✓ Why selling before approval costs everything
✓ The "inspired by" career killer
Full episode reveals: Complete contract breakdown, audit survival tactics, and Steamboat Willie trademark secrets!
🔔 Subscribe for the full conversation
⏰ Full episode: 11/03/2025
🎙 Born to License – Hosted by David Born
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I sold a million dollars of that costume in the first year. I started very traditionally at a large law firm, was a national law firm, about 300 lawyers. And I realized, this is horrible, and I don't want to do this for the rest of my life.
It took you 10 years? It took me 10 years.
I had a meeting with Paramount and there was Top Gun. Nobody wanted it. And I took that back to the office to go for it. And she said, what's Top Gun?
Tell me some sneaky red flags that inexperienced licensees often miss.
I think licensees have a tendency to look at the business terms and not both with the legal terms. But there can be a lot of traps in there. Net sales. New licensees come in me thinking they're paying 10% of their profits and they're not.
One of your clients who saved an enormous amount of money when they were selling their business.
Had we not negotiated that cap, they would have paid at least tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands more. This industry is really built on trust.
What's your view on what people can and can't do with Steamboat Willie now that it's in the public domain?
