I have designed a unique kind of greeting card/postcard and am thinking about not even trying to sell them, but instead just going straight into licensing. Do you think my best first step should be to find an agent? But, where does one fimnd an agent that is trustworthy , reasonably priced and local? Maybe that's asking too much. Yes, I am very green (novice).

There's no set-in-stone answer. Many artists create their designs exclusively for licensing, whereas others gravitate toward licensing later in their careers. You should compare your concept to others on the market to determine how well it fits, or better yet get several objective evaluations of your work. As for licensing agents, you may want to try LIMA (www.licensing.org) and even attend the annual Licensing Show, with designs in hand.

Good Luck!

Hello, I'm back! I took a small hiatus from my research. So, back to my questions....I'm getting the impression that P&O prefers to use imagery which they can apply to sellable products, either their own or those another manufacturer? Is that how this works? I am kind of confused. This is very new to me. In my case, I have a card which folds in a certain way, but my own artwork (imagery) is also included in the design. Is it possible that P&O or a similar licensing company could license my design even tho my imagery would probably not be appropriate to use on other products? 

Do you think it's necessary to patent my design and imagery before I approach a licensee? I'm afraid to show anyone my design ( licensees at the LIMA Show) in case they would know who to go to (like someone in China)who would flood the market so fast with MY idea that I'd never even have a chance!!  Is copying or stealing of ideas or designs really something to worry about? In other words, I'm thinking maybe I should just go full-steam ahead and try to get my idea on the market as soon as possible and not even worry about someone stealing the idea. The patenting process has really put a cramp in my style, so to speak! Worrying about someone stealing my idea has held me back. To patent or not to patent?

Welcome back Ronironi – hiatuses are nice! I think it is always a good idea to obtain copyright protection on a new image design, even before presenting to a reputable licensee, and definitely before you hit the trade shows. "Licensing Art & Design" and "Business and Legal Forms for Fine Artists" are two references on this subject, and others are listed in the Resources area of this site. Since it sounds like your work goes beyond being just an “artistic work”, you may need to also obtain a patent. Horror stories like those you describe abound, even for simple “artistic” works that are already copyrighted! It is always good to check with an attorney, but ultimately you have to judge whether the time and cost of obtaining a design patent is balanced out by the potential benefit. The USPTO website is excellent, but you need to spend some time looking it over. Once again, good luck!