2005 Graduate Student Licensing Competition
Sponsored by the LES (USA/Canada) Foundation

The Licensing Executives Society USA/Canada Foundation (LES) is sponsoring a competition for graduate students interested in intellectual property and licensing issues. Participants are expected to submit a business plan with a significant Intellectual Property licensing component. Entrants will have the opportunity to receive guidance and mentorship from LES members in their area. Three groups of finalists will be selected to present their business plans at the LES Winter meeting in Denver, Colorado (February 9-11, 2005) and the winning team will have the opportunity to assist with the presentation of a workshop at the winter meeting in Denver. The LES Foundation will pay transportation to Denver, hotel room for three nights and the LES (USA/Canada) winter meeting registration fee for the three selected teams.

Deadlines

• October 1, 2004 - All submissions due
  (If an extension is needed please send an e-mail explaining why you need an extension and when you will be able to provide your submission.)
• December 31, 2004 - Selection of the three teams that will attend the LES Winter Meeting
• February 9-11, 2005 - Presentation made at LES Winter Meeting in Denver, CO

Requirements and Guidelines

1. Each team may have up to 5 members.
2. Participants must be students currently enrolled in a graduate degree program with a curriculum that involves the preparation of a business plan.
3. The business plan must have a significant Intellectual Property licensing component and should include a summary of key points of the proposed licensing transactions.
4. The business plan must include a two page summary of the business plan.
5. The proposed business should be realistic and marketable and should involve an original idea and/or a novel approach to an existing issue, process, or business model.
6. It is recommended (but not required) that submissions include the following:
   1. Executive Summary
   2. Company Overview
   3. Products or Services
   4. Market Analysis and Marketing Strategy
   5. Operations
   6. Management
   7. Summary Financials/details of any licensing agreements,
   8. Bio or Resume for each team member
   9. Identification of contact person for team
7. LES cannot be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your business plan; however, please advise us in advance if you would like us to limit distribution of your business plans to the judges.
8. A submission that is part of a course for which the participants are matriculated is perfectly acceptable, although not a requirement.
9. Coaching by Faculty and/or Faculty Advisors is permitted.

Judging

1. The selection of the judges and the selection of the winning team is entirely within the discretion of LES (USA/Canada).
2. The LES Local Chapters and the LES Local Chapter Trustees will make the decisions regarding which three teams will make presentations at the Winter meeting. The goal is to have one team from each of the three regions of LES (USA/Canada) - (Canada, Western USA and Eastern USA).
3. The business plans will be judged according to the following criteria:
   1. Overall attractiveness of the venture
   2. Quality of products or services offered
   3. Market Opportunity (a clear market need)
   4. Distinctive Competence (the competitive advantage)
   5. Management Capability (management team capable of handling the anticipated risks)
   6. Financial (understanding the financial requirements of the business)
   7. Investment Potential (an attractive investment opportunity)
   8. Contribution of the licensing component to the overall plan
4. From those business plans submitted by October 1, 2004, LES Local Chapters and Local Chapter Trustees will select 3 teams of finalists to make presentations at the LES Winter Meeting in San Francisco in February. This decision will be made by the end of December.
5. The LES Foundation will pay for Transportation, hotel room for three nights and the LES (USA/Canada) Winter meeting registration fee for the three selected teams.
6. The selected teams must be available to attend the LES Winter Meeting in Denver on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 through Friday, February 11, 2005
7. The 3 teams of finalists will each make a 30 minute presentation of their business plan at the Winter meeting. The presentation will be made in front of the judges and other interested LES members. The judges will then select a winner. The winning team will be announced at the Winter meeting and will participate in a workshop presentation on the last day of the meeting. Each presentation may be video taped and the video tapes will be available to the judges only.

Submission and Questions

The above materials should be submitted via e-mail to the Trustee for your region: For Canada - Francois Painchaud Trustee LES Local Chapters (fpch@robic.com); For USA West - Art Nutter Trustee LES Local Chapters (art@taeus.com), For USA East - Jim Hand Trustee LES Local Chapters (jhand@bentleypharm.com), with cc's to Art Rose VP Local Chapters (arose@kmob.com) and schoppk@les.org by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 1, 2004. If you have any questions please feel free to contact any of the above. Good Luck!