S13 W7 E25-28 [Intellectual Property Strategy for Startups & Small Business] Maximizing IP Ownership: Asset Protection, Default Laws, LLCs, Contracts, and Agreements

S13 W7 E25-28 Leveraging INSPIRATION: The Inspired Patent PodcastTM 

Wayne Carroll - “ Leveraging INSPIRATION: The Inspired Patent PodcastTM   - Intellectual Property Strategy for Startups & Small Business” 
IBGR.Network...The World of Business at Your Fingertips

Week 7 of 13: Maximizing IP Ownership: Asset Protection, Default Laws, LLCs, Contracts, and Agreements

1. E25: Special Guest Ike Devji - Asset Protection expert
   
2. E26: Why you should form an LLC or corporation for your intellectual property
   
3. E27: Securing IP Ownership When Working with Partners, Employees, and Contractors.
   
4. E28: The Role of Contracts in IP Ownership: Navigating Joint Ownership, Licensing, and Assignments to Protect Your Interests.
   

S13 E25  Special Guest Ike Devji - The Expert on Asset ProtectionDid you know that setting up an LLC might not be enough to protect your assets? 

When you have assets you become a target of lawsuits.  Learn how to protect your assets. 

In this episode, we address the following questions:

1. What is asset protection and how is it different from estate planning? 

1. When should business owners start thinking about asset protection? (first day, last day) 

1. What is the role of insurance in asset protection planning? 

1. What are some of the asset protection risk factors? 

1. What are some of the most common asset protection mistakes? 

1. Does a possible recession change how you plan? 

You cannot buy insurance after an accident, and you cannot do asset planning after you are sued. Contact Ike today to schedule a consultation. 

In our next episode, we are discussing forming an LLC or corporation for your intellectual property.

GUEST BIO:

​Attorney Ike Devji has two decades of national legal practice experience devoted exclusively to Asset Protection, Risk Management, and Wealth Preservation planning for affluent individuals, placing him among the most experienced counsel in this area in the Southwest. 


Devji and his colleagues protect over $6 Billion in personal assets for a national client base that includes thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs, as part of a larger HNW client base. He is a noted national continuing education provider (CME, CLE, CE) on asset protection and risk management and has personally taught thousands of doctors, lawyers, and advisors on these issues in presentations to various professional associations around the U.S. in addition to being a contributing author to three books on asset protection and an author with over 300 nationally published bylines on asset protection, risk management, and business law. 


Ike Z. Devji, J.D.
Of Counsel, Lodmell & Lodmell, P.C.
Of Counsel, Davis Miles Mcguire Gardner, PLLC

(602) 808-5540
 
 Asset Protection 101 
"Asset Protection Is Like Net Worth Insurance" 
www.ProAssetProtection.com 
www.AzWealthLaw.com 


8245 N 85th Way
Scottsdale, AZ 85258 


Named among Worth Magazine's Leading Wealth and Legal Advisors
Included in Arizona's Finest Lawyers
Named Among North Valley Magazine's Top Lawyers
Avvo "10.0, Superb" Rated 2011-2022

HOST BIO:
Wayne Carroll founded Inspired Idea Solutions Law Firm in 2013, an IP boutique law firm focused on helping small businesses with intellectual property. We use a proven process for obtaining IP rights that focus on aligning the business strategy of small business clients with their IP strategy. We help small businesses implement a strategy to ensure they own and leverage their intellectual property. Our Promise: Zero Hidden Fees.  

In addition to his legal work, Wayne is an Eagle Scout and actively volunteers with the Boy Scouts of America. He is also a proud father of six children and enjoys playing pickleball. Wayne's extensive experience and expertise in intellectual property law make him a highly respected attorney and a valuable asset to clients seeking protection for their intellectual property rights. Wayne can be reached at 480-741-2440 or Wayne@inspiredideasolutions.com. You can also connect with Wayne on LinkedIn.  

Schedule an appointment with Wayne Carroll for a strategy session on protecting and leveraging your intellectual property.



TAGS: Asset Protection, LLC, Lawsuits, Attorney, Ike Devji, Expert, Estate Planning, Business Owners, Insurance, Risk Factors, Mistakes, Recession, Consultation, Intellectual Property, Inspired Idea Solutions Law Firm, IP Boutique Law Firm, Small Businesses, Proven Process, IP Rights, Business Strategy, Clear Expectations, Hidden Fees, National Legal Practice, Wealth Preservation, Affluent Individuals, Counsel, Southwest, National Client Base, HNW, Doctors, Lawyers, Advisors, Books, Author, Bylines, Lodmell & Lodmell, P.C., Davis Miles Mcguire Gardner, PLLC, Net Worth Insurance, ProAssetProtection.com, AzWealthLaw.com, Scottsdale

S13 E26   Why you should form an LLC or corporation for your intellectual property

Let me tell you a story. Four friends from college decided to start a business together. As they spend long hours together they developed some great ideas and started to implement their plans. They filed a patent application and a trademark. They didn’t form a business or LLC since they were all friends or more than friends. Startup life was not easy and within 2 years there were breakups and people parting ways not on the best terms. One of the friends worked to carry the business forward, but the patent was owned by all four of them, and the trademark was owned by all four of them, and working together was no longer an option. 

The way you choose to own your intellectual property can have large consequences. If you do not set ownership properly, you may lose all of the value of your IP.

Forming an LLC or corporation to own IP has many benefits:

1. Core assets stay with the company
2. Separate ownership from inventorship or authorship
3. Risk protection
4. Easier to license the IP or sell the business
5. Required by investors (beyond the 3 Fs)
6. Succession and estate planning
7. Tax benefits
8. Assets for funding and financing
9. Credibility with customers
10.  Simplifies bookkeeping

Some steps to take when planning or revising your corporate structure:

1. Determine your long-term plan for the business
2. Determine ways you can monetize your IP
3. Work with a tax professional to find what R&D tax credits or other tax benefits you can receive.
4. Have everyone sign agreements - including the founder to transfer ownership of IP to the business.

Each business is unique and will need individual professional advice for planning ownership, succession, and tax structure.


Don’t miss the next episode about Securing IP Ownership When Working with Partners, Employees, and Contractors.
 
BIO: 

Wayne Carroll founded Inspired Idea Solutions Law Firm in 2013, an IP boutique law firm focused on helping small businesses with intellectual property. At Inspired Idea Solutions, we use a proven process for obtaining IP rights that focuses on aligning the business strategy of small business clients with their IP strategy. We help small businesses implement a strategy to ensure they own and leverage their intellectual property. We also have clear expectations with zero hidden fees.  

In addition to his legal work, Wayne is an Eagle Scout and actively volunteers with the Boy Scouts of America. He is also a proud father of six children and enjoys playing pickleball. Wayne's extensive experience and expertise in intellectual property law make him a highly respected attorney and a valuable asset to clients seeking protection for their intellectual property rights. Wayne can be reached at 480-741-2440 or Wayne@inspiredideasolutions.com. You can also connect with Wayne on LinkedIn.  

Schedule an appointment with Wayne Carroll for a strategy session on protecting and leveraging your intellectual property.


TAGS: LLC, corporation, intellectual property, patent, trademark, ownership, risk protection, licensing, selling a business, investors, succession planning, estate planning, tax benefits, funding, financing, credibility, bookkeeping, corporate structure, monetize IP, R&D tax credits, agreements.


S13 E27 Securing IP Ownership When Working with Partners, Employees, and Contractors.
Do you own a socket wrench? I have done many projects with a socket wrench. One of the innovations was invented in 1965 when a Sears clerk invented a socket wrench with a button that releases the socket so you can change sockets with one hand. Sears agreed to buy the patent rights from their employee for $10,000 and then went on to sell millions of socket wrenches with the button release feature. When the inventor saw how widely the patent was sold, he sued Sears saying they misrepresented the value of the patent when they bought the patent. The lawsuit lasted for 20 years, from 1969 to 1989 when the case finally settled for an undisclosed amount. 

Clear agreements around intellectual property can prevent millions of dollars in lawsuit costs, and even save projects that otherwise might be abandoned because of the risks around IP ownership.

Intellectual property has defaults for ownership.

Default for Trade Secrets (Confidential Information): A trade secret is only enforceable if there is an agreement to keep it secret or a breach of reasonable security to keep it secret. If you don’t take steps to keep it confidential, you will not have any IP rights.

Default for Patents: Patents are owned by the inventors unless the inventor was an employee (not a contractor) working within the scope of their employment.

Default for Copyright (Creative Works): The author is the owner unless the creative work was created within the scope of an employee’s (not a contractor's) employment.

This gets messy when two companies work together and create new IP if there is not a clear agreement on who will own the IP. 

ChatGPT will use your confidential information if you give it access. Some companies are finding their confidential software and other IP in ChatGPT and other AI output.

What you need to do:

• Create an agreement with all employees, contractors about ownership of IP, and use of confidential information.
• Negotiate clear expectations when doing a joint research project and be careful not to give away trade secrets in the process.
• Don’t be greedy (Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered) - deal fairly with employees and contractors.

TAKE ACTION
Schedule a free consultation to discuss your IP agreements and plans. 

Our next episode covers The Role of Contracts in IP Ownership: Navigating Joint Ownership, Licensing, and Assignments to Protect Your Interests



BIO: Wayne Carroll is a highly experienced intellectual property lawyer with over 15 years of experience. He holds a Juris Doctor degree with a concentration in Intellectual Property Law from Suffolk University Law School, as well as an undergraduate degree in Electronic Engineering Technology from DeVry University. Wayne is the CEO and Attorney at Inspired Idea Solutions, LLC, a firm he founded in 2013, where he specializes in patent strategy, patent prosecution, trademark strategy and registration, and copyright litigation.

In addition to his legal work, Wayne is an Eagle Scout and actively volunteers with the Boy Scouts of America. He is also a proud father of six children and enjoys playing pickleball. Wayne's extensive experience and expertise in intellectual property law make him a highly respected attorney and a valuable asset to clients seeking protection for their intellectual property rights. Wayne can be reached at 480-741-2440 or Wayne@inspiredideasolutions.com. You can also connect with Wayne on LinkedIn.  

Schedule an appointment with Wayne Carroll for a strategy session on protecting and leveraging your intellectual property.

TAGS: Securing IP ownership, partners, employees, contractors, tools, socket wrench, patent, Sears, lawsuits, agreements, trade secrets, confidential information, patents, copyright, creative works, companies, joint research project, ownership, employees, contractors, confidentiality, agreement, negotiate, expectations, trade secrets, fairness, consultation, IP agreements, plans.



S13 E28 The Role of Contracts in IP Ownership: Navigating Joint Ownership, Licensing, and Assignments to Protect Your InterestsA well-drafted contract is like a compass that guides you through the intricate maze of intellectual property ownership.

In our last episode, we discussed the defaults for IP ownership. In this episode, we will go deeper into the issues and share strategies for structuring your contracts and relationships around IP ownership.

If you missed episode 1, I discussed that your intellectual property is the invention, not the patent, the goodwill in your brand, not the trademark registration. But without proper protection, that property can lose its value. Contracts are the first crucial step in IP ownership. Without proper contracts, businesses may face disputes, loss of control over their IP, and missed opportunities for monetization.

Key points to understand:

1. Joint Ownership is usually bad. One entity needs to own and control IP to maximize value.
2. Licensing: Licensing allows businesses to grant others the right to use their IP in exchange for compensation.
3. Assignments: Assignments involve transferring ownership of intellectual property from one party to another. 
4. Contractual Compliance: Agreements need to be clear and understood so the parties can comply.

Action Steps:

1. Seek professional guidance to create a strategy, draft contracts, and protect your IP interests. Ensure all parties involved understand and agree to the terms.
2. Conduct IP audits: Assess and document your intellectual property assets, including trademarks, patents, copyrights, and trade secrets. 
3. Educate stakeholders: Communicate the importance of IP protection to your employees, partners, contractors, and collaborators. Provide training and guidance on adhering to contractual obligations and respecting IP rights.

Schedule a consultation with Wayne Carroll, intellectual property attorney, to review your existing contracts, assess your IP protection strategies, and create customized contracts that safeguard your business's interests. 

Next week:  Trade Secrets Unveiled: Strategies for Protection, Management, and Legal Remedies

1. Patent or trade secret? Both!
2. Starting with an NDA
3. Beyond the NDA - you need more protection
4. Avoid a lawsuit when hiring - Best practices when hiring employees with experience.

BIO: Wayne Carroll founded Inspired Idea Solutions Law Firm in 2013, an IP boutique law firm focused on helping small businesses with intellectual property. At Inspired Idea Solutions, we use a proven process for obtaining IP rights that focuses on aligning the business strategy of small business clients with their IP strategy. We help small businesses implement a strategy to ensure they own and leverage their intellectual property. We also have clear expectations with zero hidden fees.  

In addition to his legal work, Wayne is an Eagle Scout and actively volunteers with the Boy Scouts of America. He is also a proud father of six children and enjoys playing pickleball. Wayne's extensive experience and expertise in intellectual property law make him a highly respected attorney and a valuable asset to clients seeking protection for their intellectual property rights. Wayne can be reached at 480-741-2440 or Wayne@inspiredideasolutions.com. You can also connect with Wayne on LinkedIn.  

Schedule an appointment with Wayne Carroll for a strategy session on protecting and leveraging your intellectual property.


TAGS: Contracts, IP ownership, joint ownership, licensing, assignments, protection of interests, contractual compliance, IP attorney, IP audits, tailored contracts, educate stakeholders, Wayne Carroll, consultation, IP protection, small business.


Make sure you leave some thoughts in the comment section below. We are interested in continuing the conversation.


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