The patent clock keeps ticking after you die! A utility patent is a time-sensitive asset. If you own the patent rights to your invention, you must make sure it’s managed properly after your death. Even if your heirs successfully inherit the patent, if they don’t know how to manage it, the rights may die a premature death.
The Horror is that heirs unfamiliar with the invention and the patent protecting it often forget to pay the mandatory maintenance fees to the USPTO, or they fail to defend the patent against an infringer. The patent lapses, and years of potential revenue are lost forever.
The Solution isn’t to haunt your heirs into doing the right thing. It’s taking care while you’re among the living to have your will or trust designate a manager for the patent rights. This should be someone with the technical and legal ability to manage the patent, not just someone to receive the royalty checks.
To keep living beyond your death, a successful patent needs a competent manager, not just an heir.
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, though.
I help entrepreneurs across the U.S. make smart, legally sound decisions about their intellectual property. I’m an attorney in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, but I serve intellectual property clients nationwide.
If you’d like to consult with me, please book a consultation online at kingpatentlaw.com or by calling my office at 312-596-2222 or 217-714-8558.
Please check out the other posts and pages on my website for more information on intellectual property and business law issues. I’m also on most major podcast platforms as “Know Your Rights: Your Intellectual Property and Business Law Playbook” (video on YouTube, Spotify, and Substack only) and on most social media as @kingpatentlaw.
