Business Breakups and the Fight Over Intellectual Property in New York

When a business partnership ends, the issues go far deeper than dividing profits or closing accounts. Intellectual property - your branding, ideas, systems, and client-facing materials- often holds the most long-term value. And in New York, where competition is fierce and innovation is constant, these disputes can escalate quickly.

From co-developed software to jointly owned trademarks, determining who gets what can turn even the cleanest business into a legal battle. Our commercial litigation attorneys at Horn Wright, LLP, help you protect what you’ve built. 

If your intellectual property is in question, we know how to assert your rights and resolve the conflict with clarity and care.

Who Really Owns It? Let’s Talk IP After a Breakup

When a business falls apart, deciding who owns what can be more than a legal question. It’s often a personal one. In New York, dissolving a partnership doesn’t just mean closing doors. It can mean untangling years of shared ideas, content, and brand equity.

Here’s what usually ends up on the chopping block:

• Trademarks and logos: Your brand identity - the look, the feel, the name. If you registered a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, it helps. But even then, disputes over who gets to keep using it happen all the time.
• Patents: If you developed a product or invention together, the question is whether it belongs to one person or both. This gets tricky fast if it wasn’t clearly assigned from the beginning.
• Copyrighted content: Think blogs, websites, digital art, videos, social media copy. Even stuff like customer guides or ad campaigns can be copyrightable. You’d be surprised what qualifies.
• Trade secrets: Client lists, sales processes, pricing models, even your CRM setup. If it gave you an edge in the market and wasn’t public, it might be a trade secret. And under New York law, those are protected, but only if you took real steps to keep them confidential. Notably, New York hasn't adopted the Uniform Trade Secrets Act; instead, trade secret protection is governed by common law.

If you’re unsure what counts as yours, our business dispute resolution lawyers can help clarify your rights, evaluate contributions, and safeguard what you’ve built.

Formal contracts, old emails, shared cloud drives. All of it matters when the lines start to blur. The more clearly we can show ownership and contribution, the easier it is to reach a fair result.

This Is Your Brand. Don’t Let Anyone Else Claim It

Your brand is more than a name. It’s your identity. It’s what clients remember and what sets you apart. When a partnership ends, the brand often becomes the center of the fight.

We’ve seen one partner take the domain name and launch a copycat site. Another reuse logos or taglines that were jointly created. These actions don’t just confuse your audience. They chip away at your business’s value.

Here’s where things typically go wrong:

• Using the name without permission: If your business name was registered, you may have protections. Without registration, it’s more complicated.
• Recycling logos or visuals: This often creates market confusion and opens the door to potential infringement claims.
• Using past content to pitch clients: Reusing case studies, templates, or digital marketing materials without agreement could violate copyright or confidentiality rules.

Trade secrets - like your pricing models, customer lists, or back-end tools - are also at risk. Under New York’s common law protections, you must show that you took reasonable steps to keep those elements confidential. That could include locked systems, NDAs, or limited access protocols.

If your former partner is now leveraging anything you helped build, without your consent, it may cross into breach of contract claims or IP infringement territory. Quick legal action can help minimize damage and clarify boundaries.

You Can’t Wait on This. IP Disputes Move Fast

Timing can be everything in IP conflicts. Delays make it easier for someone else to claim ownership or continue misusing your property.

We offer multiple ways to resolve these disputes, depending on what works best for your situation:

1. Negotiation. Sometimes a focused discussion, supported by documentation, can resolve things without ever stepping into court.

2. Mediation. In New York, mediation is often encouraged. It keeps things private and typically moves much faster than litigation.

3. Arbitration. If your agreement calls for it, we’ll represent you in arbitration. It’s binding, efficient, and keeps the matter out of the public eye.

4. Litigation. If there’s no other option, we’re ready to go to court. As a seasoned commercial lawsuit representation team, we build strong, evidence-backed cases that prioritize protecting your rights and future.

Let Horn Wright, LLP, Help You Hold on to What’s Yours

If your partnership is ending and intellectual property is part of the split, you need a legal team that understands how to untangle the details and protect your future. 

Our commercial litigation lawyers at Horn Wright, LLP, help business owners, creators, and innovators across New York assert their rights and defend what they’ve built. Whether you need a reliable partnership dispute attorney, courtroom advocacy, or strategic advice, we’re ready to help.

Contact our office today to schedule your FREE, no-obligation consultation with one of the best law firms in America.