R&D licensing
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2016 10:52 pm
Hi David,
A big aspect of today's technology industry is the licensing of R&D tech and patents to other companies. I think it would be really compelling to add a licensing of R&D (patents) mechanic to the Digital Age DLC.
Several of the other ideas in development for this DLC, such as deeper product customization and the introduction of a software component, will great increase the importance of R&D. Introducing a method to better manager proprietary R&D tech - such as licensing rather than fulling selling developed technologies - would add some interesting gameplay and be more reflective of how the technology age today.
For example - you could be very Apple like and continuously do in house R&D along with purchasing tech directly and licensing others when necessary. Go for the walled garden approach. You could potentially focus on developing a company that strictly focuses on R&D and drives it revenue through licensing deals and buying up smaller companies and their technologies. Maybe you go for the Samsung approach where you have manufacturing and retail, while also selling components and licensing tech to other manufactures. You could even spin off a subsidiary that managers your R&D and Tech portfolio - licensing older tech while protecting the newest/best techs for your own products.
I'm not entirely sure how this would be implemented within the existing Capitalismlab framework. Ideally you would broker a licensing deal with another company and they would pay a fixed value for each product produced using the technology. The cost of the fee could be determined by a combination of key factors such as it's overall tech level, along with how much the licensed tech impacts the overall rating of the product it's being implemented in. Other factors could include the amount of alternatives that are available (if you are first to market and no other competitors exist the fee would be higher. To keep things interesting you would need to renew your license on an annual basis (or better yet 1 or 5 year terms). As more companies offer to license the technology, or the products are cannibalized by newer technologies, the cost would drop.
A big aspect of today's technology industry is the licensing of R&D tech and patents to other companies. I think it would be really compelling to add a licensing of R&D (patents) mechanic to the Digital Age DLC.
Several of the other ideas in development for this DLC, such as deeper product customization and the introduction of a software component, will great increase the importance of R&D. Introducing a method to better manager proprietary R&D tech - such as licensing rather than fulling selling developed technologies - would add some interesting gameplay and be more reflective of how the technology age today.
For example - you could be very Apple like and continuously do in house R&D along with purchasing tech directly and licensing others when necessary. Go for the walled garden approach. You could potentially focus on developing a company that strictly focuses on R&D and drives it revenue through licensing deals and buying up smaller companies and their technologies. Maybe you go for the Samsung approach where you have manufacturing and retail, while also selling components and licensing tech to other manufactures. You could even spin off a subsidiary that managers your R&D and Tech portfolio - licensing older tech while protecting the newest/best techs for your own products.
I'm not entirely sure how this would be implemented within the existing Capitalismlab framework. Ideally you would broker a licensing deal with another company and they would pay a fixed value for each product produced using the technology. The cost of the fee could be determined by a combination of key factors such as it's overall tech level, along with how much the licensed tech impacts the overall rating of the product it's being implemented in. Other factors could include the amount of alternatives that are available (if you are first to market and no other competitors exist the fee would be higher. To keep things interesting you would need to renew your license on an annual basis (or better yet 1 or 5 year terms). As more companies offer to license the technology, or the products are cannibalized by newer technologies, the cost would drop.