What happens when a patent attorney who grew up swinging a hammer on construction sites, tried seven IP jury trials covering everything from reusable coffee cartridges to cherry cultivar genetics, argued before both the Federal Circuit and the Ninth Circuit, and now plays bass in a Seattle indie rock band decides to explain the single most deadly mistake startup founders make before they ever call a lawyer? In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Tim Billick, partner at Practus LLP, about why disclosing your invention before filing — even just telling a friend under no NDA — can gift your idea to the public domain permanently and there is absolutely nothing an attorney can do about it afterward. Tim explains the difference between patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets in plain English, why getting a patent is only the beginning and defending it is where most founders have no plan, and why the 90% prep, 10% execution rule he learned from his brother building high-rises in Chicago applies just as much to trying a jury trial as it does to pouring concrete. They also discuss the Echo Brands reusable coffee cartridge case where both sides accused each other of infringement, Tim's team won the verdict and got the competitor's patent completely invalidated, the bizarre plant patent dispute where Washington state cherry orchardists were sued by the Canadian government over genetic data on late-blooming cherry varietals, why storytelling matters more than facts when you're presenting to a jury of strangers, and how a 90-minute search report that costs a couple thousand dollars can save you from spending 18 months and $20,000 on a patent that was never going to survive. Tim Billick is a partner at Practus LLP in Seattle, handling patent prosecution and IP litigation for startups and creators in software, mechanical, construction, and FinTech. Connect with Tim Billick: tim.billick@practus.com practus.com Seattle, Washington Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Tim Billick 00:48 Queens of the Stone Age softened up with keyboards — what Thief Motif actually sounds like 01:28 Seven IP jury trials and why nervousness is your friend in the courtroom 02:28 The three buckets every IP client falls into 04:28 Is it unusual to do both transactional and litigation IP work 05:44 How Tim ended up with an atypical career that spans both 06:24 Pacific Northwest clients — Boeing, construction, FinTech, and software 08:05 Why Tim stays away from biotech despite Seattle's deep biotech scene 09:00 Software, mechanical, and construction — how his background informs his practice 11:17 The most common and most deadly mistake founders make before calling a lawyer 12:07 Public disclosure and how patent law is brutally unforgiving about it 14:30 Why the government's position is simply: thanks, you gave it to us 15:34 Once you have the patent, you still have to defend it — how that actually works 17:38 How litigation experience informs how Tim drafts patents in the first place 20:07 The spider web of infringement — making, selling, and indirect liability 22:25 How to make a patent defensible and hard to blow a hole through 23:04 90% planning, 10% execution — the construction adage that runs every case 24:00 Why a patentability search is worth every penny 27:33 When do you need a patent versus a trademark versus a copyright 29:12 Trade secrets — the dark side of the moon explained 32:04 What actually constitutes a trade secret and how you protect it 34:41 The Coca-Cola formula — the perfect trade secret example 35:51 The Echo Brands coffee cartridge trial — how a five-day win came together 38:00 Why you present a story to a jury, not a set of facts 40:24 What was actually happening in that case and why both sides accused each other 43:22 Invalidating a competitor's patent and what that did to his business 45:08 Washington orchardists versus the Canadian government — plant patents and cherry genetics 47:16 Late-blooming cherry varietals, genetic testing, and statistical margin of error 49:39 Getting bumped from the case when the insurer appointed their own counsel 50:33 How to reach Tim Billick #TimBillick #Practus #PatentLaw #IPLitigation #StartupPatents #TrustcastShow #TradeSecrets #SeattleIP #PatentTrial #IntellectualProperty
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