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Invention and Product Development Support Services
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Please
Note: Fee structures are tailored to each project.
Financial
figures presented in this prototypical agreement are offered
as "place holders" to demonstrate the nature
of the working agreement.
Click
HERE
for details of the
compensation structure
and procedure.
A
custom agreement will be presented for review by potential
clients on receipt of a detailed written requirement for
their particular project.
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Invention and Product Development Support Services
Retainer Agreement |
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AGREEMENT
TO PROVIDE CONSULTING SERVICES FOR PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
THIS AGREEMENT, dated
,
is made
BETWEEN Your Company, Inc. herein after
called "Client", whose address is:
AND The Mat King (a d/b/a of Geoffrey Drew Marketing, Inc.)
herein after called "Consultant", whose
address is: 740 West End Avenue; Suite 1,
New York, NY 10025 USA
1. Services To Be Provided: Client and Consultant
agree that Consultant will provide product specification
services and assist Client in determining an application
plan for [project description to be filled in
- click
HERE
to review typical project descriptions], herein
after called "the Project".
2. Additional Services:
If Client desires other services, which may or may
not be related to the above matter, Client and Consultant
must make a new agreement to provide specifically
for those other services.
3. Compensation:
A. Retainer: Fees are due and payable
upon presentation of Consultant's invoice to Client.
Client has a 30 day grace period, beginning on the
invoice date, to pay any remaining balance in full
before an Account Management Fee (finance charge)
is imposed at a rate of 18% per annum computed daily
or $20.00 per 30 day period, whichever is greater.
An initial retainer of $1,500.00 is required before
commencement of work on the Project. At the
culmination of services connected with the project,
the final invoice will be applied to the retainer
and the balance, if any, will be returned to Client.
B. Minimum Fee: Client understands and agrees
to pay a minimum of $400.00 for services regardless
of time actually spent on the Project.
C. Hourly Rate: Client agrees to pay Consultant
at the rate of $115.00 per hour.
D. Additional Charges
to Client: In addition to the hourly rate described
above, Client will be responsible to pay for all
costs and expenses such as: Travel expenses, Service
Fees, Messenger Services, Art charges, Logo Development
Charges, prototypes, tooling, photocopying charges,
telephone calls, postage and any other reasonable
expenses related to the Project.
4. Client
Acknowledgment: Client must fully cooperate with
Consultant and provide all information relevant
to the issues involved in the Project upon request.
Client must pay all bills as required by this Agreement.
If Client does not comply with these requirements,
Consultant may, at Consultant's sole discretion,
choose to withdraw from assisting Client upon written
notice submitted to Client by Facsimile, hand delivery
or certified mail.
5. >No Guarantee:
Consultant agrees to provide conscientious, competent
and diligent services but in no way does Consultant
guarantee results to the satisfaction of Client.
The parties below have read this document. They
fully understand its contents and agree to same.
X ___________________________________ Date:
_____________________
Authorized Contact for Your Company, Inc.: Benjamin
Franklin, President
X ___________________________________ Date:
_____________________
Authorized Contact for The Mat King:
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How
long does a thing like this usually take?
- There is no easy answer to this question. Is there a
chance that an existing product will do what you need
it to do. Sure. In situations like that, having the client
supply the most detailed product application requirements
will go a long way to reducing the time it takes for us
to zero in on appropriate product candidates for evaluation.
On the other end of the spectrum would be the need to
develop custom tooling and product formulations for field
testing. How far along the development trail of such protracted
projects a client would want The Mat King to accompany
it would be determined by interim result evaluations and
time and budgetary constrictions.
What
The Mat King can do for Inventors and Project Development
Teams
- Hopefully, given the best possible understanding of
what a client needs a mat or related item to do, The Mat
King can save that client time and resources, both in
terms of man hours invested and monies expended in finding
or making the right mat for their application.
Can't
you just send us some samples? -
Sometimes we get wooed into thinking that that actually
might work. We send out samples and, after some evaluation
by our our potential client, the client reports back to
us what was good and what was still needed in the mat
that will work for them. We send out some more samples
that meet the new product parameters as well as the former
requirements that the first batch of samples met. The
client comes back with still other needs and, at this
juncture, explains the importance of the project and how
much everyone will gain from it if they are successful.
That
is supposed to make us feel better about the time it takes
for our staff to cull through thousands of products, to
select ones that might suite the client's needs, needs
we might add that are still a mystery, and to send them,
often via special currier, in hopes of becoming the solver
of the problem and the recipient a huge order that will
make it all worthwhile.
Having
done this work since 1988, we have learned the tell tale
signs of the "product development" and the "product
search" scenarios. We know them to be both frustrating
for and non-remunerative for us and perhaps equally frustrating
and wasteful of time and effort on the part of our clients
as well.
We
feel it is better for both our clients and for The Mat
King to work in the manner outlined by the terms of the
prototypical
retainer agreement
provided above than to allow our selves to get caught
up in trying to save potential clients money by "sending
samples" willy-nilly with no clearly understood goals
and objectives and no fair compensation arrangement for
efforts expended and knowledge shared.
Some
Typical Project Descriptions
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1) the development of a processes to manufacture
a portable mat to melt snow and ice for residential and
commercial applications.
2) identify a product that will enable
workers to transverse the delicate surface of a certain
part of a certain aircraft during servicing of that aircraft
without resulting in the foam-like structure of that part
to be at all compressed by the weight of the workers.
3) develop or identify a mat that will
be used in a children's game.
4) identify or develop a non-skid surface
for use over exiting ceramic flooring for use in hotel
shower stalls and shower rooms that will be ADA compliant,
address certain risk management concerns and be cost effective
with regard to installation and maintenance.
What
do I need to do to get one of these Agreements started?
-
Send us a description of your project with all its requirements,
applications, cost constraints, quantities needed, time
considerations, product dimensions, where this needed
product fits in to the overall project or situation and
your role in the project. Include company name, address,
phone and fax numbers, e-mail address and identify who
can approve; i.e. sign, an agreement on behalf of your
company and to where our agreement and invoice should
be directed.
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