What happens to your trademarks, patents, and copyrights when you die, and why your heirs probably have no idea what they're actually inheriting?

In Part 1 of a two-part series on IP legacy, patent and business attorney Julie King breaks down the IP succession crisis: what makes intellectual property different from every other asset in your estate, the three ownership scenarios that determine what happens to your IP when you're gone, and six concrete steps to protect everything you've built.

Plus: the assignment document requirement most estate attorneys don't know about, and the Prince estate as a half-billion-dollar cautionary tale.

Part 2 (later this season) covers the digital estate: what happens to your social media accounts, domain names, and online presence when you're gone.

Next week: operating agreements — the document that can save your business and your closest relationships.

Covered in this episode:
- Why trademarks are "living assets" that can be cancelled and claimed by competitors if maintenance lapses
- The patent maintenance fee clock that doesn't stop for probate
- What happens to your copyrights and who controls your creative legacy
- Why trade secrets are the fastest to die in a succession crisis
- The three ownership scenarios: personally owned, business-owned, or licensed to your LLC
- The USPTO assignment document step that can leave heirs unable to enforce inherited IP rights
- Six action items to protect your IP legacy starting today

TIMESTAMPS (approximate — adjust after recording):
00:00 — The haunted house: what your heirs actually inherit
01:42 — About this series + next week's topic
02:59 — IP is property, but not like other property
04:42 — Trademarks: the hungry asset
07:06 — Patents: the ticking clock
09:23 — Copyrights: the long tail
10:56 — Trade secrets: the fastest killer
12:23 — Who actually owns your IP right now?
13:05 — Scenario 1: you own it personally (and the assignment document most estate attorneys miss)
15:43 — Scenario 2: your business owns it
18:09 — Scenario 3: you own it personally and license it to your LLC
20:19 — Real-world example: Prince and a half-billion-dollar estate with no plan
21:42 — You don't have to be Prince to need a plan - a realistic hypothetical
23:56 — Six action items to protect your IP legacy

🎙️ ABOUT THIS PODCAST: Spellbinding IP: Patent, Trademark, and Business Strategy. Helping entrepreneurs, creators, and small business owners understand and use IP law as a business tool, without the jargon.

📅 Ready to protect your brand and business? Book a consultation: https://kingpatentlaw.com/appointments/consultation/. I help creators and small business owners with IP matters nationwide and with contracts in Illinois and Georgia.

📰 Sign up for the Spellbinding IP newsletter at kingpatentlaw.com

@kingpatentlaw on social media (NOT X)

Avoid the legal horrors and keep rocking your IP. 💀🎸

DISCLAIMER: This information is for educational purposes only, is not legal advice, and does not form an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult with a licensed attorney. This video contains attorney advertising material. Julie King | King Patent Law, PLLC | 301 N Neil St Ste 400, Champaign IL 61820. Phone number and email address available at kingpatentlaw.com.

Taylor Swift just filed to trademark her voice. Here's why that matters for every creator, and the 8 brand deal contract clauses you need to read before you sign anything.

In this episode, I walk through the eight contract clauses in brand deals that quietly strip creators of their rights, including the AI replica clause that Taylor Swift's legal team is working to address through trademark law. What each clause means, why it matters, and what you can do contractually right now.

Timestamps:
(00:00) Introduction: Taylor Swift just applied to register her voice as a trademark
(02:52) Why this matters for every creator, and what you can do about it
(03:44) Clause 1: "All rights," "in perpetuity," "worldwide license"
(05:20) Clause 2: Work-for-hire, and what the Supreme Court said
(08:51) Clause 3: Assignment vs. licensing
(10:21) Clause 4: Your name, voice, and likeness
(11:01) Clause 5: The AI replica clause
(14:40) Clause 6: Exclusivity and non-compete language
(16:07) Clause 7: FTC disclosure—who gets sued when it goes wrong
(17:49) Clause 8: Indemnification
(10:23) Practical takeaway and the free checklist

📎 Free download: Brand Deal Red Flags Checklist at kingpatentlaw.com

Avoid the legal horrors and keep rocking your IP.🎸🕷

📄 Full transcript and more resources at ⁠⁠kingpatentlaw.com/blog⁠

📱@kingpatentlaw on social media platforms (NOT X)

🗓 Ready to protect your brand and business? Book a consultation at kingpatentlaw.com⁠. I serve intellectual property clients nationwide and business and estate planning clients in Illinois.

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only, is not legal advice, and does not form an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult with a licensed attorney. Contains attorney advertisement material. Julie King | King Patent Law, PLLC | 301 N Neil St Ste 400, Champaign IL 61820. Phone and email available at kingpatentlaw.com

If a competitor opens up down the street with the same color scheme, the same layout, the same vibe, and just a different name, is that legal? Maybe not.

Today Julie King of King Patent Law, PLLC, covers trade dress: the intellectual property protection that most small business owners have never heard of, which can protect everything that makes your business visually distinctive, above and beyond your name and logo.

In this episode:

• What trade dress is and what it protects, from packaging to restaurant interiors to color combinations
• The two legal requirements: distinctiveness and non-functionality
• Four real cases, including a brand-new 2025 decision and two trips to the Supreme Court
• How to register your trade dress (and when it’s worth it)
• A six-step practical sequence to start protecting your visual identity now

I have a handy free downloadable Is It Trade Dress? checklist on my website – check it out!

Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro: The Look That Gets Copied
(03:07) What Is Trade Dress?
(04:54) Louboutin and the Red Sole: When a Color Becomes a Brand Identifier
(05:57) Miracle-Gro vs. Spruce: When Green and Yellow Belong to Everyone
(08:06) The Two Requirements: #1 - Distinctiveness
(09:19) Crystal Head Vodka vs Element Spirits Tequila – Battle of the Skull Bottles
(09:38) The Two Requirements: #2 – Nonfunctionality
(11:00) Gibson Guitars: The Flying V Is Ok, But Is The Les Paul Single Cutaway Shape Functionality A Problem?
(11:36) Two Pesos v. Taco Cabana: The Supreme Court Case That Defined It All
(13:00) Bad Spaniels: Dog Toy, Jack Daniel’s, and the Parody Problem – You Can Dilute a Whiskey Brand By Tarnishment Just Like You Can Dilute the Whiskey With Dirty Ice
(15:36) Registration: What It Takes and When It’s Worth It
(16:58) Six Steps to Protect Your Visual Identity
(20:03) Key Takeaways
(21:40) FAQ Time! #1 – Can I protect my website design as a trade dress trademark?
(22:11) FAQ #2 – What is the difference between trade dress trademarks and word or image trademarks?
(22:36) – FAQ #3 – How is trade dress trademark protection different from copyright?
(23:09) – FAQ #4 – Can someone use my trade dress in a parody?
(24:09) – FAQ #5 – Does trade dress trademark registration make sense for a small business?
(24:38) How to work with Julie and how this is not legal advice.

Avoid the legal horrors, and keep rocking your IP.

Full transcript and more resources at ⁠⁠kingpatentlaw.com/blog⁠

Related episode: The Two-Headed Monster of Design IP: Combining Patents and Trademarks for Lifelong Protection: Spotify link; Apple Podcasts link; YouTube link; blog post w/ video link
📱 @kingpatentlaw on social media platforms (NOT X)

Ready to protect your brand and business? Book a consultation at kingpatentlaw.com⁠. We serve intellectual property clients nationwide and business and estate planning clients in Illinois.

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only, is not legal advice, and does not form an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult with a licensed attorney. Contains attorney advertisement material. Julie King | King Patent Law, PLLC | 301 N Neil St Ste 400, Champaign IL 61820. Phone and email available at kingpatentlaw.com

In November 2025, the Johnny Cash estate sued Coca-Cola for using a Cash tribute singer to make a commercial sound like it was voiced by the Man in Black himself, without asking permission or paying a dime. Sound familiar? It should. Tom Waits won $2.375 million from Frito-Lay for the same thing in 1992. Some brands apparently never learn.

But this isn't just a celebrity problem. If you're a creator, influencer, or small business owner working with brands or hiring marketing agencies, your contracts may already contain clauses that hand over your content, your voice, and your reputation without you realizing it.

In this episode, I'm breaking down three legal traps hiding in brand deals and marketing contracts:
🕷️ Trap 1: The copyright ownership clause that signs away your content forever: the difference between a license, an assignment, and work-for-hire (and why it matters enormously)
🕷️ Trap 2: The FTC disclosure rules that can get both brands and influencers hit with massive fines, including what #collab and #partner actually don't cover
🕷️ Trap 3: The right of publicity and trademark clauses that let brands use your name, voice, and likeness in ways you never agreed to, including what deepfake AI protections currently exist (and where the law is still dangerously incomplete)

I also cover the "sad beige lawsuit": the ongoing case between influencers Sydney Nicole Gifford and Alyssa Sheil over whether your entire aesthetic can be protected as a trade dress trademark.

TIMESTAMPS:
01:04) - Trap 1: Copyright ownership
(01:40) - Assignment vs licensing
(03:00) - Work-for-hire
(05:15) - The horror story of overreaching licenses and unintended assignments
(06:30) - Trap 2: FTC rules about transparency and disclosures for influencer marketing
(09:03) - Trap 3: Overreaching contracts that put your brand, name, likeness, and voice in peril
(09:12) - Trademark and right of publicity
(11:00) - "Sad Beige" lawsuit
(12:11 )- Tom Waits v Frito-Lay and the commercial kicker
(14:05) - Estate of Johnny Cash v. Coca-Cola, and the ELVIS Act
(16:16) - Deepfakes - AI and Digital Replicas
(17:43) - Key takeaway and wrap up
(19:09) - Free checklist - 8 Legal Red Flags Every Creator Should Look For

I'm Julie King, a patent and IP attorney with over 25 years of experience, and I help creators and small business owners protect what they've built.

🕷️ Free download: Brand Deal Red Flags Checklist: https://kingpatentlaw.com/product/brand-deal-red-flags-checklist-8-contract-clauses-every-creator-should-check-before-signing/

📅 Book a consultation: kingpatentlaw.com
🎙️ Podcast: Spellbinding IP on all major platforms
📱 Social: @kingpatentlaw

Avoid the legal horrors and keep rocking your IP. 💀🎸

DISCLAIMER: This information is for educational purposes only, is not legal advice, and does not form an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult with a licensed attorney. This video contains attorney advertising material. Julie King | King Patent Law, PLLC | 301 N Neil St Ste 400, Champaign IL 61820. Phone number and email address available at kingpatentlaw.com.

There is a federal court decision from February 2026 that every attorney using AI tools needs to read, not because of what it held, but because of what it did NOT hold, and because most of the published commentary is getting the scope of the ruling wrong in ways that could lead you to precisely the wrong conclusions.

In this episode, Julie King of King Patent Law, PLLC, walks through the Heppner decision with the precision it deserves, then covers the issues that matter even more for day-to-day practice: attorney AI use and privilege, the AI meeting notetaker ethics trap that is affecting almost everyone, the escalating sanctions for AI hallucinations in court filings, and what the Supreme Court’s cert denial in Thaler means for IP attorneys advising clients.

This episode covers:

• What Heppner actually held — and the three specific grounds the court relied on
• What Heppner did NOT decide (and why too much published commentary is misreading the scope)
• The attorney AI use and privilege question the court left open and the email analogy that helps navigate it
• What ABA Formal Opinion 512 and state ethics opinions actually require
• The AI meeting notetaker problem: Otter.ai, Zoom AI Companion, and the artifacts problem
• The Illinois-specific wrinkle: two-party consent and BIPA
• The escalating sanctions spectrum: from Mata to disqualification and full-book disclosure
• What the Thaler cert denial means for IP attorneys advising clients

TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) The misread: how a lot of Heppner commentary is getting it wrong
(01:34) Why listen to me about this? My background
(02:24) Section 1: What Heppner actually held: the three grounds
(05:33) What Heppner did NOT decide: attorney use, enterprise tools, attorney-directed use/Kovel
(08:02) What to tell your clients about using AI
(08:17) Section 2: Attorney AI use and privilege: the email analogy and ABA Opinion 512
(14:47) Section 3: AI meeting notetakers: the trap nobody is talking about
(20:24) Section 4: Hallucinations, sanctions, and candor: the escalating spectrum
(24:23) Section 5: Thaler cert denial: what it means for IP attorneys advising about copyright and AI
(26:04) Wrap-up and practical checklist

Companion episode: Episode “What the Law Actually Says About AI and Your IP: Copyright, Trademarks, Patents, & Digital Replicas” at https://youtu.be/bazNjQHM92o covering AI and IP for business owners and creators: copyright, trademark, patents, training data, and digital replicas.

Links:

• Chat with Claude about privilege transcript: https://kingpatentlaw.com/chat-with-claude-about-privilege/
• ARDC ethics hotline: iardc.org
• Hallucination database: https://www.damiencharlotin.com/hallucinations/

Avoid the legal horrors, and keep rocking your IP.

Full transcript and more resources at ⁠⁠kingpatentlaw.com/blog⁠

Ready to protect your brand and business? Book a consultation at kingpatentlaw.com⁠. We serve intellectual property clients nationwide and business and estate planning clients in Illinois.

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only, is not legal advice, and does not form an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult with a licensed attorney

Julie King | King Patent Law, PLLC | 301 N Neil St Ste 400, Champaign IL 61820. Phone and email available at kingpatentlaw.com

Contains attorney advertisement material.

There is a significant amount of misinformation circulating right now about what AI does and does not mean for your intellectual property. In this episode, Julie King of King Patent Law, PLLC, cuts through the noise with what the law actually says RIGHT NOW about copyright, trademarks, patents, training data, and the growing threat of AI-generated digital replicas.

This episode covers:

• What the U.S. Copyright Office now says about AI-generated works (and the three scenarios that determine your copyright status)
• Whether your AI prompt makes you the author of the output — the Copyright Office has a clear answer
• The dangerous assumptions small business owners make about AI-generated logos and brand names
• What USPTO guidance says about AI and patents — and why getting inventorship wrong can invalidate your patent entirely
• What the training data fair use battle means for your business
• Digital replicas, voice cloning, and why the Copyright Office is calling for urgent new federal law

TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) - Introduction — why there’s so much misinformation about AI and IP right now and why that’s a huge problem
(02:44) - Why listen to me about AI and IP?
(04:06) – What’s in this episode?
(05:12) - Section 1: Copyright and AI — the three scenarios and human authorship
(10:01) - Do your prompts make you the author? The Copyright Office’s answer
(12:00) - Copyright registration, AI disclosure requirements, and why documentation matters
(17:39) - Section 2: Trademark and AI — the logo generator problem and the trademark search AI can’t do
(22:30) - Section 3: Patents and AI — why AI cannot be your inventor and what that means for your business
(26:57) - Section 4: Training data and the fair use question
(30:51) - Section 5: Digital replicas, voice cloning, and the trademark strategy gaining attention in 2026
(38:16) - Key takeaways and wrap-up

The companion attorney-focused episode drops next Tuesday, covering the Heppner privilege decision, AI meeting notetakers, and ethics traps for solo and small firm practitioners.

Links:

• 2023 blog post, Can You Copyright or Trademark a Logo Designed by AI?:https://kingpatentlaw.com/can-you-copyright-or-trademark-a-logo-designed-by-ai/
• Copyright Office AI reports: copyright.gov/ai/
• USPTO AI guidance: https://www.uspto.gov/subscription-center/2025/revised-inventorship-guidance-ai-assisted-inventions

• Updated April 2026 blog post: AI and Your IP: What Every Small Business Owner Actually Needs to Know in 2026 https://kingpatentlaw.com/ai-and-your-ip-what-every-small-business-owner-actually-needs-to-know-in-2026/

Book a consultation: kingpatentlaw.com⁠. We serve intellectual property clients nationwide and business and estate planning clients in Illinois.

Avoid the legal horrors, and keep rocking your IP.

This information is for educational purposes only, is not legal advice, and does not form an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult with a licensed attorney. This episode contains attorney advertising material. Julie King | King Patent Law, PLLC | 301 N Neil St Ste 400, Champaign IL 61820. Phone and email available at kingpatentlaw.com

The designer who spent weeks on a logo, got paid, and then discovered she owned nothing. That is what a work-made-for-hire clause can do, and it happens every single day to designers, photographers, musicians, illustrators, and writers.

In this episode, attorney Julie King of King Patent Law breaks down IP strategy for creatives: the four types of intellectual property protection, the copyright registration question that determines whether you can actually fight back when someone steals your work, the contract language that silently strips creatives of their rights, and a specific breakdown for influencers and content creators on brand deal IP traps.

In this episode:

• The four IP tools: copyright, trademark, patents, and trade secrets
• Why copyright is automatic but registration is essential
• AI and copyright: what the Copyright Office actually says
• Trademark for creatives: protecting your brand, not just your work
• Design patents and utility patents for product-based creatives
• Work-made-for-hire: the statutory categories every freelancer must know
• License vs. assignment: the difference that should change how you price your work
• Influencers and content creators: brand deal UGC traps, platform terms, and music licensing
• Six steps to protecting your creative work starting today

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro: a common work-for-hire horror story
(02:48) The four IP tools for creatives
(03:03) Copyright: registration, DMCA, and what AI changes
(07:45) Trademark for creatives
(09:54) Patents: design and utility
(11:22) Trade secrets
(11:53) Work-made-for-hire deep dive
(14:06) License vs. assignment
(15:08) A note for influencers and content creators
(18:14) Six-step protection checklist
(21:03) Key takeaways
(22:38) FAQs - Can I copyright my art style? I created a logo for a client on a handshake deal. Who owns it? Can I use AI to create my logo and trademark it?
(24:31) Disclaimer and booking information

Avoid the legal horrors, and keep rocking your IP.

Full transcript and more resources at ⁠⁠kingpatentlaw.com/blog⁠

Ready to protect your brand and business? Book a consultation at kingpatentlaw.com⁠. We serve intellectual property clients nationwide and business and estate planning clients in Illinois.

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only, is not legal advice, and does not form an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult with a licensed attorney

Julie King | King Patent Law, PLLC | 301 N Neil St Ste 400, Champaign IL 61820

Contains attorney advertisement material.

What happens to your business when you die? If you're a sole proprietor, or if you don’t address succession planning properly for your partnership, LLC, or corporation, the answer is: zombie chaos.

In this episode of Spellbinding IP: Patent, Trademark, and Business Strategy, attorney Julie King of King Patent Law walks through the legal reality of what happens to a business, and its intellectual property assets, when an owner dies without a succession plan.

Using a real client case (fully anonymized) where a family business devolved into active litigation among family members, Julie shows she’s not being dramatic about the horrors that can ensue when you get it wrong. Then she explains exactly how to prevent the same fate for your business and your family.

In this episode

• What a 'zombie business' is and why they're more common than you'd think
• How entity choice (sole proprietorship vs. LLC vs. corporation) determines what survives you
• Illinois-specific rules under the Illinois Limited Liability Company Act
• Why your registered trademarks and patents are especially vulnerable in succession chaos
• What a buy-sell agreement is, and why small businesses need one more than big ones
• A 7-step checklist to zombie-proof your business today
• When to DIY and when to hire an attorney

TIMESTAMPS:

• (0:00) – Intro and hook: a real family's business nightmare
• (2:27) – What is a zombie business?
• (3:10) – Entity types and what they mean for succession
• (3:32) – The problems with sole proprietorships
• (4:31) – The perils of partnerships
• (5:03) – LLCs – Limited Liability Companies
• (5:43) – Corporations
• (5:57) – The Illinois LLC Act: what heirs do and don't get automatically
• (6:54) – Real-life zombie business nightmare and how it could have been avoided
• (8:41) – Your IP assets in succession planning: trademarks, patents, copyrights, trade secrets; the chaos that can ensue if it’s not included
• (10:21) – The operating agreement / bylaws as your survival document
• (11:18) – Buy-sell agreements
• (11:51) – Myth-busting for small businesses: why those buy-sell agreements aren’t just for large businesses
• (12:48) – Step-by-step: how to zombie-proof your business
• (16:37) – When to DIY vs. hire an attorney
• (17:50) – What to do if you can't afford to form an LLC right now
• (19:29) – Key takeaways and wrap-up

Avoid the legal horrors, and keep rocking your IP.

Full transcript and more resources at ⁠⁠kingpatentlaw.com/blog⁠

Ready to protect your brand and business? Book a consultation at kingpatentlaw.com⁠. We serve intellectual property clients nationwide and business and estate planning clients in Illinois.

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only, is not legal advice, and does not form an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult with a licensed attorney

Julie King | King Patent Law, PLLC | 301 N Neil St Ste 400, Champaign IL 61820

Contains attorney advertisement material.