What Are the Different Types of Intellectual Property in California?
Intellectual property refers to the legal rights of creators and inventors for their creative works. Suppose you have created or invented intellectual property. In that case, you can take certain legal precautions to safeguard your rights and ownership of your creations, including filing for copyrights, trademarks, patents, and more.
The major types of intellectual property include the following:
- Copyrights
- Trademarks
- Patents
- Design rights
- Software databases
- Trade secrets and confidential information
Understanding the difference between some of these intellectual property legal protections is essential. For example, trademarks safeguard your brand’s identity, providing legal protection for names, logos, and more. Copyrights protect creative works like writing, art, books, and films. Patents establish legal ownership so that your inventions remain your own. Each type of intellectual property legal protection has its unique purpose, making it useful for different creations and innovations. When protecting your intellectual property, you must choose the proper legal protection for your IP and estate planning goals. Multiple forms of intellectual property rights can often overlap, so you should work with attorneys experienced in these practice areas for legal assistance.
Have You Formally Documented Your Intellectual Property?
Intellectual property can be your most valuable asset as an individual creator, inventor, or business owner. Some studies show that a typical company’s total value is approximately 80% intellectual property. Despite this, very few creators, inventors, and businesses fully recognize the total value of their intellectual property. Few have taken steps to protect that property, plan for the future, and maximize the property’s value.
The first step in protecting your IP is formally documenting it in your asset inventory. When you inventory your assets, ensure that all assets you own are recorded diligently and thoroughly. If you own multiple businesses, each business entity should maintain its record of assets. The next step is registering your intellectual property with legal protections such as trademarks, patents, and copyrights with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Do not wait until your intellectual property is under threat or stolen before you take steps to put these protections in place. While it may cost you money and take time to register a trademark, patent, or copyright, failure to do so could cost you far more and result in cease-and-desist letters, litigation, and other negative consequences.
What Happens to Intellectual Property When Creators and Inventors Pass Away?
If you own IP, you may be curious about what happens to your property, creation, brand, or invention after your death and whether the legal protections you’ve put in place will continue to safeguard your legacy. Your intellectual property’s fate will largely depend on the actions you take before death.
Examples of what may become of your intellectual property after death include the following:
- Transfer through inheritance, wherein intellectual property rights can be transferred to designated beneficiaries, who will then become the new owners of the IP
- Before passing away, the creator, business owner, or inventor can include specific provisions in their estate planning documents regarding the transfer, management, and licensing of their intellectual property
- The intellectual property owner has the right to assign ownership or sell their IP during their lifetime
- If you appoint an executor or trustee to manage your estate, you can entrust that individual or entity to handle the transfer, licensing, and enforcement of intellectual property rights on behalf of your estate and its beneficiaries
After the creator or intellectual property owner dies, their copyrights, patents, trademarks, and other IP rights can continue to protect the property for some time. However, intellectual property rights have a limited duration. For example, copyright laws typically protect creative works for up to seven decades after the creator’s death.
Does Your California Estate Plan Safeguard Your Intellectual Property?
Estate planning documents can look after your interests, defend your estate assets from creditors and lawsuits, safeguard your legacy, and look after the future of your loved ones. But estate plans can also protect your intellectual property during your lifetime and after your passing. To ensure that your intellectual property does not become the subject of estate litigation or that your beneficiaries do not miss the chance to make the most of ownership of your intangible assets, you must put in the time and money to protect these assets during your lifetime by establishing an estate plan.
While most intellectual property rights can be transferred to a beneficiary after your passing, you should speak with an experienced estate planning lawyer about your legal options for passing on your IP rights to beneficiaries and heirs.
For some estate plans, placing your intellectual property rights into a trust may be recommended. Depending on the type of trust you set up, you can continue managing your intellectual property during your lifetime. Trusts also help your beneficiaries avoid the probate process. After reviewing your circumstances and estate planning goals, other forms of estate planning measures may better protect your intellectual property interests, including putting your IP in a last will and testament.
Did You Get Your Intellectual Property Professionally Appraised?
Before integrating your intellectual property rights into your estate plan, we recommend you seek a professional appraisal to determine the true worth of your intellectual property.
Assigning a value to copyrights, trade secrets, trademarks, patents, and other intellectual property can be difficult. Engaging with professionals can help you discover your IP assets’ real and tangible value. The appraisal will be the foundation for making informed decisions throughout estate planning.
Please schedule your free initial consultation with our legal team to begin your estate planning today.
Can Intellectual Property Be Inherited in CA?
Intellectual property can be inherited by beneficiaries and heirs in California.
Essentially, the treatment of intellectual property after its creator’s passing will similarly mirror any other property type, such as the right to bequeath it to a surviving family member, trade it, or sell it off. Unless legal arrangements are made before your passing, a named beneficiary or heir will inherit your intellectual property rights.
Certain applicable estate planning laws may also play a role in determining the precise outcome of intellectual property after its owner’s death. Contact our California law firm for legal guidance in these practice areas.
Schedule a Free Consultation with Our Experienced California Estate Planning Lawyers Today
Creating a comprehensive estate plan is essential if you want to ensure that your personal valuables, financial accounts, and intellectual property are transferred according to your wishes.
Our California law offices have extensive experience helping clients with complex estate planning matters, including assisting creators, business owners, and inventors with protecting their intellectual property rights during their lifetime and after their deaths. We will explain your legal options for creating an estate plan that safeguards your legacy and handles your IP rights according to your wishes.
To learn more about our legal services and how we may assist you through the estate planning process, please get in touch with our Los Angeles law office to schedule your free case evaluation today at 818-658-2174.