You spend years, effort, and serious money, often tens of thousands of dollars, to create a valuable intellectual property empire. You secure those priceless patents, register those robust trademarks, protect your valuable copyrights, and lock down those precious trade secrets. You’ve built an IP asset portfolio designed to generate income for years, even decades.

But here is the true terror: When you're gone, does that empire continue to generate value for your heirs or business partners, or does it become a worthless liability? We're talking about The True Terror of Poor Planning.

Hello, and welcome back to Spellbinding IP: Patent, Trademark, and Business Strategy, the show that helps you build a brand so strong, it survives its own sequel.

The thesis today is simple, yet alarming: A standard will and skimpy business operation documents can be a death sentence for your most valuable intellectual property. If you haven't taken specific legal steps to address the unique life cycle of your patents and trademarks, your competitors could inherit them before your family or business does.

Let's dive into how intellectual property can end up in the legal graveyard and how you can prevent that.

In this episode:

• I. Introduction: The Unattended Asset (0:00)
• II. Intellectual Property vs. General Estate or Business Assets: The Terrifying Difference at Death (1:19)
• III. The Four Ghosts of Poor Intellectual Property Succession Planning (2:38)
• 1. The Patent Ghost (2:50)
  2. The Trademark Ghost (3:23)
  3. The Trade Secret Ghost (3:49)
  4. The Business Ghost (4:13)
• IV. Your Legal Epitaph: Why the Standard Will Fails Your Intellectual Property Legacy (4:48)
• V. Stopping the Terror of Poor Planning of Intellectual Property Succession (7:00)

If you are serious about protecting the assets you've worked so hard for, don't let the True Terror of Poor Planning define your legacy.

I'll dive into the specifics of those LLC agreements and succession plans in future episodes, so stay tuned for the sequels!

Intellectual property is one of the most terrifyingly useful tools you have. If you’re a creator or other entrepreneur ready to build a frighteningly powerful brand and business, you need to know how to use it.

You don't have to face the darkness alone. To learn more about protecting your creations, your name, your business, and your legacy, you can book a consultation with me at kingpatentlaw.com.

I’m Julie King, a licensed attorney in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and I help entrepreneurs across the U.S. make smart, legally sound decisions about their intellectual property.

If this episode helped you survive the horror of learning about how to protect and manage your intellectual property and business, please like and subscribe if you haven’t already!

You can find all of my other frighteningly good content on the King Patent Law website, at "Spellbinding IP: Patent, Trademark, and Business Strategy" on all major podcast platforms, and at @kingpatentlaw on most social media.

The information provided in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or form an attorney-client relationship. You should not act on any information presented here without first seeking the counsel of a licensed attorney for your specific legal needs.

Thank you for tuning in. Stay legally sharp, and keep rocking your IP!

#patent #trademark #copyright #intellectualproperty #businesstips #estateplanning #successionplanning

A King Patent Law, PLLC Guide to Avoiding the Potentially Fatal Flaws of DIY and Online Services

November is a great time to be thankful for the assets you've built, and a smart business owner knows that the intellectual property (IP) protecting their unique creations is one of the most valuable assets of all.

But once you've invented that brilliant gadget or coined that killer brand name, who do you hire to protect it? The choices can feel like a maze, full of shadowy corners and false promises. Should you DIY and brave the journey alone? Rely on a map from a cheap online service? Or hire an experienced intellectual property lawyer as your seasoned guide?

The cost difference seems huge upfront, but I’ve spent over 25 years as a lawyer watching that initial savings turn into a financial catastrophe down the road.

I'm Julie King, your rock-and-horror-loving patent attorney. Welcome back to the recently renamed podcast, “Spellbinding IP: Patent, Trademark, and Business Strategy,” formerly “Know Your Rights: Your IP and Business Law Playbook.” While that title entertained me because it’s a Clash song title, it wasn’t so good for reaching people looking for answers to their IP questions, so an SEO-friendly change was needed. Enough of that. Back to the real content!

Today, I’m leading you through that labyrinth of confusing options to show you four specific, high-stakes mistakes that only a licensed attorney can prevent, proving why the cheap path often leads to a worthless asset and spending more in the long run. I’ll also cover how to choose the right lawyer or law firm to help you.

In this episode:

• Part I: The Three Paths to Protection (1:39)
• Part II: The Four Fatal Flaws an Attorney Can Prevent (2:38)
• 1. The Claims Killer: The Fatal Flaws of DIY Patent Language (2:43)
  2. The Trademark Zombie: Why a Bad Search Dooms Your Brand Before It's Born (11:46)
  3. The Copyright Trap: Filing Too Late to Claim Your Full Damages (21:15)
  4. Who Owns the Asset? The IP Time Bomb in Business (24:03)
• Part III: How Do You Find the Right Intellectual Property Professional? (26:04)
• Conclusion: Choose Your Guide Wisely (30:17)

You can't afford to treat your valuable assets like a low-budget horror flick. Choosing your IP counsel isn't a place to pinch pennies. The money you "save" on a cheap service is often dwarfed by the cost of fixing an application error or, worse, realizing your final patent or trademark is too weak to actually defend your business.

Choose a partner who brings years of the right experience and strategic foresight to the table. Don't let your business's most valuable assets become the victims in a horror story.

Intellectual property is one of the most terrifyingly useful tools you have. If you’re a creator or other entrepreneur ready to build a frighteningly powerful brand and business, you need to know how to use it.

To learn more about protecting your creations, your name, your business, and your legacy, you can book a consultation with me at kingpatentlaw.com. I help entrepreneurs across the U.S. make smart, legally sound decisions about their intellectual property. I'm an attorney in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and I serve intellectual property clients nationwide.

The information provided in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or form an attorney-client relationship. You should not act on any information presented here without first seeking the counsel of a licensed attorney for your specific legal needs.

#kingpatentlaw #julieking #patent #trademark #copyright #intellectualproperty #businesstips #businesslaw #lawyers

Your U.S. patent is powerful at the border! Even if knockoffs are manufactured and sold freely overseas without you being able to do much about it, your patent gives you the power to stop them from entering the lucrative U.S. market.

The Power Move: You can record your granted U.S. patent (and trademark) with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Not all border patrol agents are sweeping through cities and suburbs nabbing people off the street and violently dragging them out of their cars. Some are doing the important job of protecting U.S. commerce from imported goods that violate U.S. patent, trademark, and copyright rights. CBP trains its officers to seize and detain the goods that violate your registered IP rights at the port of entry.

The Impact: This simple filing turns your legal document into an enforcement tool for customs agents, blocking the flow of counterfeit goods and protecting your market share without expensive lawsuits. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to catch every counterfeit product trying to come into the U.S., but it’s better than not even trying.

Intellectual property is one of the most terrifyingly useful tools you have. If you’re a creator or other entrepreneur ready to build a frighteningly powerful brand and business, you need to know how to use it.

You don't have to face the darkness alone. To learn more about protecting your creations, your name, your business, and your legacy, you can book a consultation with me at kingpatentlaw.com. I help entrepreneurs across the U.S. make smart, legally sound decisions about their intellectual property. I'm an attorney in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and I serve intellectual property clients nationwide.

If this episode helped you survive the horror of learning about how to protect and manage your intellectual property and business, please like and subscribe! You can find all of my other frighteningly good content on the King Patent Law website, at "Spellbinding IP: Patent, Trademark, and Business Strategy" on all major podcast platforms, and at @kingpatentlaw on most social media.

The information provided in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or form an attorney-client relationship. You should not act on any information presented here without first seeking the counsel of a licensed attorney for your specific legal needs.

#kingpatentlaw #julieking #intellectualproperty #patent

Before you even start manufacturing, you find out your invention would be infringing on another patent. Your freedom-to-operate search revealed a competitor holds a patent on a core component. Now what? Don't Panic. Redesign!

The Choice: You face two options, and only one protects your long-term profit:

1. The Licensing Trap: Buy the patent rights, which can be expensive. Alternatively, pay a royalty to the patent holder for every unit you sell. This creates an ongoing cost and allows a competitor to profit from your success. There’s also no guarantee the patent owner will grant you a license or sell the patent rights to you.

2. A Legal Workaround: Work with your engineers and patent attorney to "design around" the blocking patent. By changing the component's structure, material, or function, you can often achieve the same result without infringing the patent’s claims.

The Lesson: The upfront cost of a redesign may be cheaper than the perpetual cost of a royalty.  Designing your way out of starting an infringement battle is a worthwhile subject to look into.

Intellectual property is one of the most terrifyingly useful tools you have. If you’re a creator or other entrepreneur ready to build a frighteningly powerful brand and business, you need to know how to use it.

You don't have to face the darkness alone. To learn more about protecting your creations, your name, your business, and your legacy, you can book a consultation with me at kingpatentlaw.com. I help entrepreneurs across the U.S. make smart, legally sound decisions about their intellectual property. I'm an attorney in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and I serve intellectual property clients nationwide.

If this episode helped you survive the horror of learning about how to protect and manage your intellectual property and business, please like and subscribe! You can find all of my other frighteningly good content on the King Patent Law website, at "Spellbinding IP: Patent, Trademark, and Business Strategy" on all major podcast platforms, and at @kingpatentlaw on most social media.

The information provided in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or form an attorney-client relationship. You should not act on any information presented here without first seeking the counsel of a licensed attorney for your specific legal needs.

#kingpatentlaw #julieking #intellectualproperty #patent #patentinfringement

Here’s the true cost of manufacturing your invention overseas. The minute you send your blueprints to a manufacturer, you introduce a massive risk of intellectual property theft.

The Horror: When an idea is copied overseas, it's virtually impossible for a small business to stop it. Your U.S. patent is powerful here, but useless in their jurisdiction. International patents can help, but they’re really only as good as your ability to pay for lawyers overseas to defend them against infringement. Large corporations can handle that cost far better than small businesses.

Your Defense: The Contract Chains

You must bind your manufacturer with an iron-clad contract that includes:

1. IP assignment clauses explicitly stating all resulting intellectual property belongs to you.

2. Strong non-disclosure clauses (or separate Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs)) for everyone involved to protect confidentiality.

3. Audit and termination rights clauses allowing you to inspect their facility and clearly defining penalties for unauthorized production.

Like with international patents, though, the cost of hiring lawyers here or overseas to help you if the manufacturer doesn’t abide by the contract can be significant.

The best protection against the likely problems with overseas manufacturing is to have your invention manufactured in the U.S. Yes, that may be more expensive in terms of manufacturing costs, but what you may save in enforcement costs may be worth it.

Whether you have your product manufactured in the U.S. or overseas, don't start production without legal chains securing your intellectual property, and be prepared to hire lawyers here and overseas to help you enforce these contracts!

Intellectual property is one of the most terrifyingly useful tools you have. If you’re a creator or other entrepreneur ready to build a frighteningly powerful brand and business, you need to know how to use it.

You don't have to face the darkness alone. To learn more about protecting your creations, your name, your business, and your legacy, you can book a consultation with me at kingpatentlaw.com. I help entrepreneurs across the U.S. make smart, legally sound decisions about their intellectual property. I'm an attorney in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and I serve intellectual property clients nationwide.

If this episode helped you survive the horror of learning about how to protect and manage your intellectual property and business, please like and subscribe! You can find all of my other frighteningly good content on the King Patent Law website, at "Spellbinding IP: Patent, Trademark, and Business Strategy" on all major podcast platforms, and at @kingpatentlaw on most social media.

The information provided in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or form an attorney-client relationship. You should not act on any information presented here without first seeking the counsel of a licensed attorney for your specific legal needs.

#kingpatentlaw #julieking #intellectualproperty #patent #internationalpatents

Let’s look at the two scariest patent searches! An inventor should run two different types of patent searches, and mixing them up is a huge mistake that can cost millions.

1. Patentability Search: Answers the question, "Is my invention new enough to get a patent?" To be granted a patent, an invention must be both novel and non-obviousness. This is the search that investigates those issues. It also looks at whether the subject matter is patentable, but that’s often something a patent attorney can advise you about before you have this search done.

2. Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) Search: Answers the question, "Can I legally sell this product without being sued?" This search looks at active patents whose rights are still enforceable to see if your invention contains components or processes that any of those patents protect, and to see whether your invention is committing infringement by including those parts or processes. This kind of search is much more expensive than a patentability search, and that’s because the level of detail and time necessary to do the search and analysis of results are much more extensive. It’s still less expensive than infringement litigation, however.

The Lesson: Getting a patent is risky if you haven't done a freedom-to-operate search. Don't rely on the USPTO to check for infringement; that's ultimately your responsibility. Always get a freedom-to-operate search before you invest in manufacturing to ensure your path to market is clear!

Intellectual property is one of the most terrifyingly useful tools you have. If you’re a creator or other entrepreneur ready to build a frighteningly powerful brand and business, you need to know how to use it.

You don't have to face the darkness alone. To learn more about protecting your creations, your name, your business, and your legacy, you can book a consultation with me at kingpatentlaw.com. I help entrepreneurs across the U.S. make smart, legally sound decisions about their intellectual property. I'm an attorney in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and I serve intellectual property clients nationwide.

If this episode helped you survive the horror of learning about how to protect and manage your intellectual property and business, please like and subscribe! You can find all of my other frighteningly good content on the King Patent Law website, at "Know Your Rights: Your IP and Business Law Playbook" on all major podcast platforms, and at @kingpatentlaw on most social media.

The information provided in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or form an attorney-client relationship. You should not act on any information presented here without first seeking the counsel of a licensed attorney for your specific legal needs.

#kingpatentlaw #julieking #intellectualproperty #patent #freedomtoperate #patentsearch #patentability

Welcome, innovators, to a critical lesson that separates successful patent entrepreneurs from those whose patents collect dust. I’m Julie King, and today I’m revealing the terrifying truth that owning a patent does not automatically give you the right to sell your invention.

You see, a patent is a legal shield, a right to exclude, not a sword you can wield freely in the marketplace.

In this episode:

• The Patent Paradox: A Shield, Not a Green Light (0:25)
• The Horror of Overlapping Patents (0:53)
• Example: The Patented Battery Case Nightmare (1:15)
• How to Avoid Accidental Infringement: Your Freedom-to-Operate Checklist (1:50)
• Beyond Legal Clearance: The Manufacturing and Marketing Battlefield (including overseas issues) (3:17)
• The Silent Killer: Market Apathy (4:34)
• The Bottom Line (5:55)

Owning a patent is an achievement, but it's only the first step. Before you invest in manufacturing, invest in a Freedom-to-Operate analysis. Protect your invention from your competitors and protect your business from accidental infringement. Make sure the patent application is likely worth the investment of time and money by doing careful market research.

Want to make sure your invention is market-ready? Consult with a patent attorney to assess the legal landscape before you invest in manufacturing and sales. They can also advise you about how to protect your invention’s secrecy when you work with market research experts, so your work with them doesn’t cause legal headaches.

Intellectual property is one of the most terrifyingly useful tools you have. If you’re a creator or other entrepreneur ready to build a frighteningly powerful brand and business, you need to know how to use it.

You don't have to face the darkness alone. To learn more about protecting your creations, your name, your business, and your legacy, you can book a consultation with me at kingpatentlaw.com. I help entrepreneurs across the U.S. make smart, legally sound decisions about their intellectual property. I'm an attorney in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and I serve intellectual property clients nationwide.

If this episode helped you survive the horror of learning about how to protect and manage your intellectual property and business, please like and subscribe! You can find all of my other frighteningly good content on the King Patent Law website, at "Know Your Rights: Your IP and Business Law Playbook" on all major podcast platforms, and at @kingpatentlaw on most social media.

The information provided in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or form an attorney-client relationship. You should not act on any information presented here without first seeking the counsel of a licensed attorney for your specific legal needs.

#kingpatentlaw #julieking #intellectualproperty #patent

Be careful not to let your trade secrets die with you, or you may accidentally kill your business. If you have a proprietary formula, customer list, or algorithm that gives you your competitive edge, it’s not registered with the government. Its protection relies entirely on secrecy and contracts.

The Horror can be that since there is no government registration, if the owner dies unexpectedly, and the secret formula only exists in their head, written down somewhere no one can find it, or on a single encrypted hard drive no one can access, the entire value of the business can disappear. If there’s no way for the estate’s executor or trustee to retrieve and protect the secret, the core value of the company can vanish overnight.

The Solution is to have a trade secret succession plan.

1. For Individuals: Create a secure, sealed protocol that names a trusted successor/trustee who can access the secret only upon documented events, such as death or incapacity.

2. For Businesses: Explicitly name the trade secret as an asset in the operating agreement, bylaws, or shareholder agreement (but don’t reveal what it is in those documents); make sure the proper trustworthy business partners or successors know where and how to access the trade secret; and mandate strict confidentiality protocols for all partners and employees.

Intellectual property is one of the most terrifyingly useful tools you have. If you're a creator or other entrepreneur ready to build a frighteningly powerful brand, you need to know how to use it.

You don't have to face the darkness alone. To learn more about protecting your creations, your name, your business, and your legacy, you can book a consultation with me at kingpatentlaw.com.

I help entrepreneurs across the U.S. make smart, legally sound decisions about their intellectual property. I'm an attorney in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, and I serve intellectual property clients nationwide.

If this episode helped you survive the horror of learning about how to protect and manage your intellectual property and business, please like and subscribe!

You can find all of my other frighteningly good content on the King Patent Law website, at "Know Your Rights: Your IP and Business Law Playbook " on all major podcast platforms, and at @kingpatentlaw on most social media.

The information provided in this episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or form an attorney-client relationship. You should not act on any information presented here without first seeking the counsel of a licensed attorney for your specific legal needs.

#kingpatentlaw #julieking #intellectualproperty #tradesecret #businesstips #estateplanning #horror #halloween #spookyseason