Intellectual property in a partnership?

You need a partnership agreement. Obviously, the best approach would be to use a lawyer and put a legal agreement in place. You will each need your own counsel to look after each of your rights. Since, as you say, its not in the budget I would at least work out a outline of terms that both of you agree to. Have the outline signed and dated by both parties and have it witnessed by a third party. If you can't agree on what the company should own and what should remain individual rights then perhaps you two are not well suited to be business partners. One thought for you... you can each retain ownership of the logos, concepts, etc. but give your business a royalty free license. This would clearly be best done with an attorney.

Assuming no prior written agreements and that you haven't formed a corporation or Limited Liability Company (L.L.C.), and that you've both put things into it, you both own everything. The partnership you created really has no separate existence.

A corporation or LLC would.

Another thing you should both be aware of is that if either of you incurs a debt on behalf of this partnership and the business closes down, you each owe all of the debts that the business incurred.

It's for these reasons that most knowledgeable people will tell you that a partnership is the very worst form of business entity to create. Assuming you're in the U.S., the LLC may be your best choice because it's: a)easy and cheap to create; b) doesn't require a lot of paperwork to maintain; and c) because you get to treat your profits as either a corporate or individual basis (you choose in your first year and it then proceeds under that choice).

Good Luck.

First, you do not "copyright something"; copyright is loose and computerized. In some international places you are able to optionally sign up your possession, yet that would not supply you extra copyright; in simple terms valid evidence of what you already owned from the 2d you created your artwork. further, you are able to not in all threat very own a "trademark" till you have used the variety on products or centers in commerce, and you will possibly be able to optionally sign up your possession in trademark besides, that would incredibly supply you extra rights to it, over people who have not yet all started using any comparable variety in appropriate fields. That suggested, you in all threat do not very own any copyright in an unauthorized derivative artwork and could be sued for even making this form of element, not to indicate attempting to sell one, without permission of the unique copyright vendors. whether the regulation have been to offer you copyright risk-free practices over your added "ingenious" works on terrific of in spite of the unique copyright covers, you will possibly desire to understand that copyright would not shelter the assumption, technique, functionality, theory or concepts represented in the works. What you would be searching for is roofed below the guidelines touching directly to "unsolicited company suggestions", which coincides with scientific care of "commerce secrets and methods" that are basically disclosed to others below responsibilities of non-disclosure, the two contractual or fiduciary. definite, in case you acquire the needed protections in simple terms before disclosure of your knock-off interest, and that they elect to apply it, they might owe you in spite of repayment is truthful or in any different case agreed in the contracts below which you disclosed it to them.