May 6, 2010
IP Holding Companies, Part III
In parts I and II of this series, we discussed the importance of setting up an IP holding company where all of your IP is held. We also provided some pretty good examples of the kinds of things that could happen if your IP is not properly titled in your IP holding company, or if you comingle your IP holding company with other assets. That leads us to this post – a brief overview of the requirements that MUST be followed in order to properly protect your IP and shield it from other liabilities.
As we recommended in our previous post, you should set up an LLC that has the purpose of holding your IP and licensing the IP for use by others. This can actually be a rather simple process here in Florida. The website for the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations is sunbiz.org. The filing forms for setting up your LLC are available for printing or, if you have an account set up already, you can simply electronically file the forms. As noted, this can be a simple process, but one that is somewhat easy to do improperly as well. When all else fails, seek the advice of an attorney.
April 26, 2010
IP Holding Companies, Part II
In a previous post, we discussed the importance of forming an intellectual property holding company to own your IP. That previous post established that starting an IP holding company is necessary. This post will focus on the details.
Talk to any lawyer, and one of their primary goals for their clients is managing their liabilities. This generally includes separating assets so that liabilities do not cross over. For example, suppose you own your IP personally, i.e., it is titled in your name personally. Now imagine that a thief breaks into your house, slips on your floor, sues you for having a slippery floor, and somehow gets a judgment against you (here is a story about a burglar that sued the homeowner that shot him). What happens if your homeowner’s insurance does not cover the judgment? (more…)
April 14, 2010
IP Holding Companies – Why You Need One
If you’re running your own small business, and you don’t have a holding company for your intellectual property, you should make an appointment to have your head examined. Creating a separate entity, solely for the purpose of owning your IP, is the quickest, easiest, and cheapest way to insure the goodwill associated with your business.
I realize that the subject matter of this post is a bit drier than what you may have grown to expect from Tactical IP, but I’m hoping that at least a few of our readers are here for free tips on how to make their intellectual property work for them. With that in mind, I’ll try to keep this light and painless.
Liability protection is the name of the game when it comes to creating business entities. Think of it like an insurance policy. If you do it right, assets can be protected from creditors, including judgment creditors who may have prevailed in a lawsuit. As far as the law is concerned, a properly created and maintained business entity is a separate “person” from its owners and employees. The benefit of that treatment is that, if the property created and maintained business entity incurs debts or gets sued, its assets are the only things that may be taken — not the assets of its owners. Let’s look at an example to really hammer this point home.
