By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
The licensing industry is a sector rich in innovation, and, in fact, many would say that innovation is at the heart of licensing. Creating new products and services is really the entire point of the sector, and so it just makes sense that the licensing industry would be quick to adopt cutting edge software.
One of the most innovative companies in licensing is Octane 5, a leader in the area of licensing management software platforms for more than 20 years.
Octane 5 is the producer of Brand Comply, a comprehensive platform that can handle literally every facet of the licensing process, freeing up time for licensing professionals to close deals and focus on more creative work.
Mike Dunn, who shares the co-president title with brother and co-founder Matt, says the idea of creating a comprehensive platform is what led to the founding of Octane 5 in the first place.
The brothers were part of the launch of another top-rated licensing software firm, JPatton, when they came up with their own vision for a new platform.
“We have had a long history of developing software and security technology for the Licensing Industry,” Dunn says. “But the company didn’t share our vision for the market and technology, so we felt it was time to move on and fulfill our vision for the next generation of licensing technology. That’s essentially how Octane 5 was born.”
Core to their idea for a new platform was the concept of creating software that handled all aspects of licensing.
“Matt and I have been developing software technology for Licensing since the late 90’s,” Dunn said. “The one consistent element in the industry was that all of the providers had a single area of expertise; royalties, contracts, digital asset management, or approvals.
“Their systems were born from a knowledge of one of those single areas and no one was focused on an enterprise platform,” Dunn added. “Since our earliest days, our goal was a fully integrated suite that is best in class across all disciplines. ‘Bolt on’ features were never an option.”
The Dunn brothers and the team at Octane 5 developed relationships early on in the sports and collegiate categories, leading to new innovations. Mike Dunn says he and his team are proud of the fact they introduced a series of ‘firsts’ in the area of licensing software.
“I would say these “firsts” are all based on what we saw clients needed, and we responded accordingly,” Dunn explained. “We began managing digital style guides for the Collegiate industry and the NHL, among others, in 1995.
“We developed the first online approval system for the NHL in 1999. We launched a program that managed embroidery files for licensees and brands in 2000. We developed the first mobile track and trace system for holograms in 2002. We were first to launch an iOS licensing app in 2012.”
Dunn also says that being ‘first’ is not necessarily the important part. Instead, he says the real test is delivering a service that effectively meets the needs of the market it serves.
“When you have been around as long as we have, we have seen it all, including lots of supposed ‘firsts’,” he said, putting air quotes around the word. “For example, every new Licensing Marketplace to launch has claimed the mantle of First. A flood of companies tried to develop licensing marketplaces in the late 90’s, early 2000’s, and about every 3 to 5 years since.
“In fact over $150 million in investment money has been spent to date, but, due to a lack of immersion and understanding of the licensing industry, none knew that not only were they not first, but they weren’t providing solutions to the real needs of the licensing industry.”
Octane 5 instead focused on ensuring that its signature platform BrandComply would be able to provide the already well established needs of the industry, but to combine multiple solutions into a comprehensive, all-in-one package.
“All these experiences and our dedication to the licensing industry is what allowed us to be the first to launch a full end-to-end, contract to consumer solution for licensing,” Dunn said. “That is something we are very proud to have been on the forefront of developing.”
The concept allowed Octane 5 to grow rapidly and become a top provider to the licensing industry. Today, the BrandComply platform is used by 150 of the world’s largest licensors, who total $250 billion in sales. Big names on the company’s roster include Coca Cola, Ford, GM, Mattel, Harley Davidson and CAT, to name a few.
VERITY: INTEGRATING PHYSICAL IP PROTECTION AND LICENSING SOFTWARE
Octane 5 is not just a software provider; it is also one of the world’s top providers of security labels and hang tags under the Verity brand. Here again, Octane 5 introduced new technology to the licensing industry when it partnered with Crane Currency to incorporate Crane Micro-Optics technologies into Octane5 brand protection programs.
This technology is unique for its ability to deliver a deep, three-dimensional image and fluid movement effects that are easy and intuitive to verify. Combined with a brand’s identifiable markings, the technology allows for brand protection products that are both highly secure and highly engaging to consumers.
“The Verity product is completely unique to Licensing,” Mike Dunn added. “It uses a proprietary micro-optic technology akin to what is found in currency, but bigger than that is the integration between the consumer interaction with that secure label/tag, and the back-end data that resides in BrandComply.
“This fulfills our vision of capturing data throughout the entire licensing lifecycle and allows us to deliver analytics that offer the most unique data and actionable information a brand can have.”
THE ROLE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN LICENSING
While Octane 5 spend a lot of time gazing into the future, Dunn says it’s also important not to simply jump onto the latest trend without a great deal of reflection.
A good example is the use of artificial intelligence, or AI, in both creating and managing intellectual property.
“AI will have some impact on the features and capabilities of the software, but not as much as people think,” Dunn predicts. “We can go on and on why AI will never be effective for Contract entry or analysis, but that is a different conversation. Predictive analytics are the future.”
Dunn does see a role for AI in licensing industry as a whole, but also believes its use will not replace human-generated content, simply because trademark and copyright laws do not allow for ownership of works generated by AI.
“The Licensing Industry is an interesting case study for AI,” Dunn said. “Because the industry revolves around the ownership of IP, the most high-profile examples of AI today (Generative AI) won’t be of great use unless ownership of the generated works can be established.
“While there are certainly use cases for both the licensees and licensors to generate works that do not require separate IP protection, the commoditization of “creativity” is a very real downside to excessive use for mundane tasks.
“Instead, we see the real opportunities for AI in licensing in targeted uses in the operational side, from help in decision making to simplifying human machine interfaces, there are numerous ways AI could play a role.”
SPECIALTY SOFTWARE FOR THE COLLEGIATE SECTOR
Octane 5 has added some new platforms to its offerings over the past few years, including the BrandComply College platform which adds functions meeting specific needs of collegiate licensing professionals.
The College solution leverages 21 years of Collegiate experience and bundles it into an intuitive, powerful and simple to deploy product.
It includes functions like Logo Management, Approvals, Royalties, Contracts, Compliance, Money Processing Modules and more. “College licensing is its own unique business,” Dunn explains. “We have been working with colleges since 1998, so we understood that if we were going to be successful in empowering colleges and universities to be able to properly manage their unique business, we had to have a system that reflects the realities of that world. “BrandComply College has been a huge success and the list of institutions running it grows every year!”
Clients using BrandComply College include Fanatics Licensing Management, Nexus Licensing Group, Ohio State University, Indiana University, and more.
Octane 5 Takes a LEAP Into Automated Product Design
More recently, Octane 5 has jumped into the field of automated product design with a new software offering called LEAP, or Licensee Express Automation Platform.
LEAP essentially allows licensees to very quickly design licensed products like T-shirts, hoodies, hats and so on, placing logos and creating colors in mere minutes.
Users can pull logos and other licensed images from their current asset database, size and place the image, choose the colors for shirts or other products, all based on the palette of the licensor, and to easily replicate that same process with other similar IP. For example, if a licensee was creating T-shirts for all NFL teams, they’d be able to replicate the entire process just by selecting each team, and LEAP will automatically design all of the shirts for each team, literally in seconds.
“LEAP came about through a collaboration with the world’s foremost expert on graphics automation, Hanaan Rosenthal,” Dunn said “The challenges faced by licensees in automating production for repetitive tasks, such as those experienced when creating a design for every team of a major sports league, is something to which Hanaan has dedicated his life.
“With Octane5’s focus on simplifying the licensing process, a collaboration to bring automation solutions to the licensing market was a no brainer,” Dunn added. “The value proposition of LEAP is simple: dramatic reductions in time to market, absolute consistency in the team-out process, and greatly increased efficiency for a licensee’s design team. And, this is just the beginning; there’s much more to come on the LEAP platform soon!”
Dunn also predicts the growth of the licensing software industry will continue and gain in momentum over the coming years, partly because it simply makes company teams more efficient, but also because the industry is becoming more complex.
Success in that type of environment requires licensing teams to be be nimble and to maximize their time, which is also the primary goal of the BrandComply platform.
“Operating your business in silos both from a data and operation standpoint is an ineffective way to truly maximize your team and more importantly, deliver on your strategy,” Dunn explains. “The power of an integrated, enterprise-wide system is immeasurable in running faster, smarter, safer, and more profitably.
“Most of our clients are enterprise clients; they manage their business, “Contract to Consumer” in BrandComply. Nothing can compare to that power.”
To learn more about BrandComply and other Octane 5 products and services, reach out to the company on their contact page: https://www.octane5.com/contact-us/