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PSA: Your business partner can legally take trademarks you filed alone if you don't have a written agreement
I was reading through a court case from Delaware last week where two friends started a company and one filed a trademark in his name only. The other guy left and the court still gave him half the trademark rights because they had an implied partnership. Why wouldn't you just spend $500 on a simple operating agreement instead of risking your whole brand?
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the_richard1mo ago
My buddy Kevin had a food truck with his cousin Marcus down in Austin. They had this killer taco recipe and Kevin filed the trademark for the truck's name himself, thinking it was fine since they were family. Marcus got married and moved to Dallas, came back two years later wanting a cut because he helped build the customer base and even designed the logo. The court sided with Marcus because they had no written agreement, just oral promises and handshake deals. Kevin ended up giving him 25% of the business just to avoid a longer fight, and @anna_hill's story about Dave's hot sauce company rings true because it's the same kind of nightmare. A $500 operating agreement could have stopped all that.
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anna_hill1mo ago
My buddy Dave started a little hot sauce company with his neighbor. They were just grinding it out in the kitchen, no paperwork at all. Five years later the neighbor bailed and Dave kept making the sauce. The neighbor came back a year later wanting half the name and recipe. Dave thought it was a joke until he got the court papers. It cost him like 15 grand in legal fees to settle it, and he had to give the guy 30% of the business anyway. Now he says that $500 operating agreement would have been the best money he ever spent.
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