Avoid the Legal Horrors with Julie King: Patent, Trademark, and Business Strategy

Your Trademark Doesn't Know You're Dead. Will it Die with You? Intellectual Property Succession Planning

29 min · 13 de may de 2026
Portada del episodio Your Trademark Doesn't Know You're Dead. Will it Die with You? Intellectual Property Succession Planning

Descripción

What happens to your trademarks, patents, and copyrights when you die, and why your heirs probably have no idea what they're actually inheriting? In Part 1 of a two-part series on IP legacy, patent and business attorney Julie King breaks down the IP succession crisis: what makes intellectual property different from every other asset in your estate, the three ownership scenarios that determine what happens to your IP when you're gone, and six concrete steps to protect everything you've built. Plus: the assignment document requirement most estate attorneys don't know about, and the Prince estate as a half-billion-dollar cautionary tale. Part 2 (later this season) covers the digital estate: what happens to your social media accounts, domain names, and online presence when you're gone. Next week: operating agreements — the document that can save your business and your closest relationships. Covered in this episode: - Why trademarks are "living assets" that can be cancelled and claimed by competitors if maintenance lapses - The patent maintenance fee clock that doesn't stop for probate - What happens to your copyrights and who controls your creative legacy - Why trade secrets are the fastest to die in a succession crisis - The three ownership scenarios: personally owned, business-owned, or licensed to your LLC - The USPTO assignment document step that can leave heirs unable to enforce inherited IP rights - Six action items to protect your IP legacy starting today TIMESTAMPS (approximate — adjust after recording): 00:00 — The haunted house: what your heirs actually inherit 01:42 — About this series + next week's topic 02:59 — IP is property, but not like other property 04:42 — Trademarks: the hungry asset 07:06 — Patents: the ticking clock 09:23 — Copyrights: the long tail 10:56 — Trade secrets: the fastest killer 12:23 — Who actually owns your IP right now? 13:05 — Scenario 1: you own it personally (and the assignment document most estate attorneys miss) 15:43 — Scenario 2: your business owns it 18:09 — Scenario 3: you own it personally and license it to your LLC 20:19 — Real-world example: Prince and a half-billion-dollar estate with no plan 21:42 — You don't have to be Prince to need a plan - a realistic hypothetical 23:56 — Six action items to protect your IP legacy 🎙️ ABOUT THIS PODCAST: Spellbinding IP: Patent, Trademark, and Business Strategy. Helping entrepreneurs, creators, and small business owners understand and use IP law as a business tool, without the jargon. 📅 Ready to protect your brand and business? Book a consultation: https://kingpatentlaw.com/appointments/consultation/ [https://kingpatentlaw.com/appointments/consultation/]. I help creators and small business owners with IP matters nationwide and with contracts in Illinois and Georgia. 📰 Sign up for the Spellbinding IP newsletter at kingpatentlaw.com [https://kingpatentlaw.com/] @kingpatentlaw on social media (NOT X) Avoid the legal horrors and keep rocking your IP. 💀🎸 DISCLAIMER: This information is for educational purposes only, is not legal advice, and does not form an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult with a licensed attorney. This video contains attorney advertising material. Julie King | King Patent Law, PLLC | 301 N Neil St Ste 400, Champaign IL 61820. Phone number and email address available at kingpatentlaw.com.

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212 episodios

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3 Trade Secrets Hiding In Your Business Right Now

Your customer buying habits. Your pricing structure. Your process. You're probably sitting on IP that could destroy your business if it went public. So what do you do about that? Avoid the legal horrors and keep rocking your IP. 💀🎸 📅 Ready to protect your brand and business? Book a consultation: https://kingpatentlaw.com/appointments/consultation/ [https://kingpatentlaw.com/appointments/consultation/]I help creators and small business owners with IP matters nationwide and with contracts in Illinois and Georgia. 📰 Sign up for the Avoid the Legal Horrors newsletter at kingpatentlaw.com [kingpatentlaw.com] @kingpatentlaw on social media (NOT X) DISCLAIMER: This information is for educational purposes only, is not legal advice, and does not form an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult with a licensed attorney. This video contains attorney advertising material. Julie King | King Patent Law, PLLC | 301 N Neil St Ste 400, Champaign IL 61820. Phone number and email address available at kingpatentlaw.com.

16 de jul de 20261 min
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Trade Secret or Patent? A Very Quick Guide

Patents expire in 20 years. Trade secrets can last forever, as long as you keep them secret. Coca-Cola, KFC, and WD-40 all bet on secrecy over patents. Here's why. Avoid the legal horrors and keep rocking your IP. 💀🎸📅 Ready to protect your brand and business? Book a consultation: https://kingpatentlaw.com/appointments/consultation/ [https://kingpatentlaw.com/appointments/consultation/]I help creators and small business owners with IP matters nationwide and with contracts in Illinois and Georgia. 📰 Sign up for the Avoid the Legal Horrors newsletter at kingpatentlaw.com [https://kingpatentlaw.com] @kingpatentlaw on social media (NOT X) DISCLAIMER: This information is for educational purposes only, is not legal advice, and does not form an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult with a licensed attorney. This video contains attorney advertising material. Julie King | King Patent Law, PLLC | 301 N Neil St Ste 400, Champaign IL 61820. Phone number and email address available at kingpatentlaw.com.

15 de jul de 20261 min
episode What Is a Trade Secret? The IP Protection Most Businesses Don't Know They Have artwork

What Is a Trade Secret? The IP Protection Most Businesses Don't Know They Have

Most types of intellectual property come with a paper trail: a patent number, a trademark registration, a certificate you can point to. Trade secrets don't work that way. There's no filing and no government record, just a legal test with two parts: does the information have real economic value because it isn't generally known, and have you made reasonable efforts to keep it that way? In this episode, Julie walks through what actually counts as a trade secret (it's a lot more than secret formulas), why an NDA by itself isn't enough to hold up in court, and what companies like Coca-Cola, KFC, and WD-40 have done differently by choosing permanent secrecy over a patent. She closes with the practical steps to actually protect a trade secret, and what to do if you think one has already been taken. Timestamps: * 00:00 — Intro: the IP threat with no jump scare * 01:09 — What is a trade secret, legally? * 02:24 — What actually qualifies (customer lists, pricing, process — not just formulas) * 02:49 — Patent vs. trade secret: two different legal bets * 03:41 — Real-world examples: Coca-Cola, KFC, WD-40, Google's algorithm * 05:32 — How to actually protect a trade secret (4 practical steps) * 07:26 — Key takeaways * 08:18 — Wrap-up and CTA Key Takeaways: * Trade secrets are the one type of IP where skipping formal registration is the point, not a mistake. * "Reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy" is an ongoing practice, not a one-time form. * An NDA is necessary but not sufficient on its own. * Most businesses are protecting less than they think. A real audit beats an assumption. IP Audit Checklist: https://kingpatentlaw.com/product/intellectual-property-legal-checkup-the-audit-checklist-for-patents-trademarks-copyrights-trade-secrets/ [https://kingpatentlaw.com/product/intellectual-property-legal-checkup-the-audit-checklist-for-patents-trademarks-copyrights-trade-secrets/] 📰 Sign up for the Avoid the Legal Horrors newsletter: https://kingpatentlaw.com/newsletter/ [https://kingpatentlaw.com/newsletter/] Avoid the legal horrors and keep rocking your IP. 💀🎸 📅 Ready to protect your brand and business? Book a consultation: https://kingpatentlaw.com/appointments/consultation/ [https://kingpatentlaw.com/appointments/consultation/] I help creators and small business owners with IP matters nationwide and with contracts in Illinois and Georgia. @kingpatentlaw on social media (NOT X) DISCLAIMER: This information is for educational purposes only, is not legal advice, and does not form an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult with a licensed attorney. This content contains attorney advertising material. Julie King | King Patent Law, PLLC | 301 N Neil St Ste 400, Champaign IL 61820. Phone number and email address available at kingpatentlaw.com.

14 de jul de 20268 min
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Yes. A utility patent protects how something works. A design patent protects how something looks. If your product has a distinctive visual identity, you may have more protection available than you think. 📰 Sign up for the Avoid the Legal Horrors newsletter: https://kingpatentlaw.com/newsletter/ [https://kingpatentlaw.com/newsletter/] Avoid the legal horrors and keep rocking your IP. 💀🎸 📅 Ready to protect your brand and business? Book a consultation: https://kingpatentlaw.com/appointments/consultation/ [https://kingpatentlaw.com/appointments/consultation/] I help creators and small business owners with IP matters nationwide and with contracts in Illinois and Georgia. @kingpatentlaw on social media (NOT X) DISCLAIMER: This information is for educational purposes only, is not legal advice, and does not form an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult with a licensed attorney. This content contains attorney advertising material. Julie King | King Patent Law, PLLC | 301 N Neil St Ste 400, Champaign IL 61820. Phone number and email address available at kingpatentlaw.com.

9 de jul de 20261 min
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Utility patent pricing scares a lot of product inventors out of pursuing any patent protection at all. But design patents (which protect how a product looks, not how it works) are a meaningfully different conversation. If you've written off patents on cost alone, this one's for you.   📰 Sign up for the Avoid the Legal Horrors newsletter: https://kingpatentlaw.com/newsletter/ [https://kingpatentlaw.com/newsletter/] Avoid the legal horrors and keep rocking your IP. 💀🎸 📅 Ready to protect your brand and business? Book a consultation: https://kingpatentlaw.com/appointments/consultation/ [https://kingpatentlaw.com/appointments/consultation/] I help creators and small business owners with IP matters nationwide and with contracts in Illinois and Georgia. @kingpatentlaw on social media (NOT X) DISCLAIMER: This information is for educational purposes only, is not legal advice, and does not form an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult with a licensed attorney. This content contains attorney advertising material. Julie King | King Patent Law, PLLC | 301 N Neil St Ste 400, Champaign IL 61820. Phone number and email address available at kingpatentlaw.com.

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