legal, tech-company, united-states, intellectual-property, internationalThere’s a small European startup company (EuropeCo) that sells a product we’re interested in; it’s essentially a touchscreen tablet with an innovative stand and their proprietary software installed. EuropeCo doesn’t have any presence in the US.
Let’s say I’m an employee at pharmaceutical company PharmaY, and I know that PharmaY would be interested in this. I could also push PharmaY to test and potentially purchase the product.
What options do I have so that I can introduce this product to PharmaY and reap the benefits if they’re interested?
In a separate matter, I also have a family member that owns a small IT company (LocalCo). Is that something that can help us?
The options that I’ve considered: create a partnership with EuropeCo so that we (LocalCo and I) represent EuropeCo in the US, somehow find an agreement so that we can sell EuropeCo’s product under LocalCo, let EuropeCo directly deal with PharmaY (no benefit for me here).
What other options do I have? We cannot reproduce the product.
Thanks.
So in other words: “How can I, as an employee of PharmaY, structure things to get a commission as I broker a deal between PharmaY and EuropeCo?”
The main thing is, be wary of insufficient disclosures and conflicts of interests if a) you remain employee of PharmaY and b) your cut is structured as something other than a bonus paid by PharmaY for work well done. Anything else could look like bribery and haunt you down the road. Pros: things are clean and tidy, and you get to keep your job. Cons: your cut might be tiny or zero, and all likelihood fixed, due to some variation of “you’re doing job.”
Your other main option is to basically quite PharmY. Then either go solo or join LocalCo or create a joint-venture with the latter, and basically broker the reseller deal with EuropeCo. For all you know you might end up with an exclusive reseller deal across North America or parts thereof. Pros: it’s more rewarding and you’ll be free to negotiate whatever cut makes you happy. Cons: it’s harder and there’s no guarantee you’ll succeed.
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