What’s the intellectual property horror lurking in the closet that gets overlooked the most? Welcome to the final, and perhaps most terrifying, week of Spooky Season. We’ve talked about how patents, trademarks, and trade dress are all massive business assets. But too often, people spend a good deal of time and money protecting those assets, but then they leave their future value to chance.

I'm talking about the Grave Truth of Succession. Your intellectual property does not die with you. The question is: Will it transfer smoothly to the right person or entity, or will it be tied up in probate hell? When an IP owner dies, some of their most valuable intangible assets, their patents, their trademarks, can become legally trapped, or worse, split between co-owners who can't agree, sucking the value right out of the business. You need a plan, or your legacy may become a legal horror story.

In this episode:

• Let the Right One In: Individual vs. Entity Ownership (1:01)
• The Nightmare on Patent Inheritance Street (2:01)
• Night of the Living Dead Trademark (4:15)
• The Phantom of the Lost Trade Secret (7:04)
• Your Silver Bullet: Planning and Documentation (8:48)

Your IP is your legacy. Plan for its succession, or it could be buried forever.

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.

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