Picture yourself at the table negotiating the sale of your company. Are you worried about any intellectual property(IP) skeletons in your closet?

In every beginning there is an end, and in every planning for the beginning of your company there should also be a plan for the end. Whether all goes well or all goes south, how does your business fit into your plan and how might it fit into your overall assets or estate? That is a heady issue, but increasingly in this information economy the most vital aspect is intellectual property.

Have you planned to structure the sale of both your business and your intellectual property? To what degree are the products of your company products of an intellectual property? Who owns the property, you or the company? Just as likely, is it possible that a previous employer has claim to your intellectual property?

Heed some advice given in a recent Forbes article titled “Start With The End In Mind: Four Must-Dos For Intellectual Property.”

The simple fact is that with a personal business, so much of your own life – your blood, sweat, tears and ideas – go into the business. Accordingly, that planning for the business is truly a bit of life planning for yourself.

So how can you protect your intellectual property and what is your property in the first place? And, if you are already at the point of sale, how do you go about protecting and valuing that intellectual property?

For more information about estate planning and business, please visit my estate planning website.

Reference:  Forbes (June 9, 2014) “Start With The End In Mind: Four Must-Dos For Intellectual Property”