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Intellectual property

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arabianne

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Washington

I had a pro se dissolution that was finalized in December 07 with no complications. We did have one issue crop up that I addressed in my final documents and that the judge seemed to be happy with the wording on, but I was curious to find out if anyone else had ever run across the issue and if so, how did you handle it?

My ex was asking for future proceeds from a fiction novel that I had been working on off and on for the last few years. I am in no way a published nor sought after author, nor am I thinking this is the 'Great American Novel' with the potential to make me a multimillionaire :p but there is always the possibility of publication (if and when I finish it). I also am an artist, and have enjoyed some small local recognition, although no sales.

In my property division I set forth all created, in progress, and future works as separate property. My ex signed a joinder and appeared in court for final signatures but did not contest this wording.

Will this be enough to protect me in future should something extraordinary happen and I see some return from these art/writing pieces? Not even the judge was familiar with intellectual property as pertains to dissolution, so I was at a loss and had to 'fly blind'. :)
 


LdiJ

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? Washington

I had a pro se dissolution that was finalized in December 07 with no complications. We did have one issue crop up that I addressed in my final documents and that the judge seemed to be happy with the wording on, but I was curious to find out if anyone else had ever run across the issue and if so, how did you handle it?

My ex was asking for future proceeds from a fiction novel that I had been working on off and on for the last few years. I am in no way a published nor sought after author, nor am I thinking this is the 'Great American Novel' with the potential to make me a multimillionaire :p but there is always the possibility of publication (if and when I finish it). I also am an artist, and have enjoyed some small local recognition, although no sales.

In my property division I set forth all created, in progress, and future works as separate property. My ex signed a joinder and appeared in court for final signatures but did not contest this wording.

Will this be enough to protect me in future should something extraordinary happen and I see some return from these art/writing pieces? Not even the judge was familiar with intellectual property as pertains to dissolution, so I was at a loss and had to 'fly blind'. :)
She signed off on the agreement. Unless you deliberately did not disclose pertinent information (like the information that an agent had contracted to represent you to publishers for the novel) the agreement cannot be re-opened.

Property agreements are done deals once the judge signs off on them, unless something important was not disclosed.
 

arabianne

Junior Member
Excellent.

No, I listed everything, including the couple of articles he and I had co-written for a local music magazine, which I signed off all interest to and gave him as his separate property. I also agreed not to pursue him for any creative property *he* may have had in the works. Neither one of us is a professional, nor had any solid leads or offers; we were just pursuing (semi-serious) hobbies. Whether either of us makes anything of it down the road, who knows, but I wanted to make sure we were both protected and divided fairly.

It was a quiet dissolution, fairly divided, and we are still good friends. What more could you ask? :)

Thank you for the reassurement!
 

Bali Hai

Senior Member
Excellent.

No, I listed everything, including the couple of articles he and I had co-written for a local music magazine, which I signed off all interest to and gave him as his separate property. I also agreed not to pursue him for any creative property *he* may have had in the works. Neither one of us is a professional, nor had any solid leads or offers; we were just pursuing (semi-serious) hobbies. Whether either of us makes anything of it down the road, who knows, but I wanted to make sure we were both protected and divided fairly.

It was a quiet dissolution, fairly divided, and we are still good friends. What more could you ask? :)

Thank you for the reassurement!
Clone her!!
 

mistoffolees

Senior Member
In my property division I set forth all created, in progress, and future works as separate property. My ex signed a joinder and appeared in court for final signatures but did not contest this wording.
Sounds like you got lucky. If it had been my ex-wife, she would have asked for a share based on the percentage of the work that was done during the marriage (actually, she would have asked for half of the entire work even if it was completed after the marriage, but she would have settled for half of the amount completed during the marriage).

But, as LdiJ says, since everyone signed off, you're OK as long as you fairly represented the facts.
 

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