All legal aspects of a business including incorporation, intellectual property and contracts
6
votes
5answers
250 views
What have you done to ensure your entity functions after departure/death/incapacitation of a principal?
This is a question that was mostly theoretical for me until now. I just found out that the owner of a small company I did freelance work tragically died recently in a small plane accident. (His wife ...
6
votes
5answers
479 views
what am I giving up by letting someone else become the CEO?
My software based LLC is on the verge of explosive growth... I don't want to be the one managing the people and dealing with all the politics, negotiations, marketing etc.
I want to continue doing ...
6
votes
5answers
397 views
Startup project - hide from employer or cooperate with him?
I am a software developer. I have a good idea and I'd like to create a startup. I am planning to invite one or two of my colleagues as co-founders.
I am concerned about the relationships with my ...
6
votes
6answers
5k views
Delaware LLC, one person, internet-only business; Do I need to register as a foreign corporation?
This seems like a straightforward, common question that would not require a lawyer to answer, but I'm having a lot of trouble finding an answer to the question in the title.
I would like to form an ...
6
votes
1answer
263 views
Our client wants ownership of the code + no competition clause, but we need to re-sell this program in order to make money. How do we compromise?
TL;DR: "A client contracts us to build the engine for Warcraft I, does client have right to stop us using the same engine for let's say.... Skyrim?" (No contracts have been signed YET)
Actual ...
6
votes
5answers
247 views
Where can I get cheap and good legal advice?
I am looking for good/cheap legal advice for a web application my friend is building.
We will need to write a Term Of Service.
Do we really need a lawyer for that?
Are there templates out there?
...
6
votes
2answers
253 views
Is there an inbetween step between “a trial period” and “co-founder”?
Greetings,
I am planning on joining a start up with someone as a co-founder and right now we're in a hurry to get product off the ground. I've worked with this person in
a trial period and I ...
6
votes
5answers
269 views
Legality of building a brand based on color association?
I'd like to create a brand, naturally, but I have a problem.
You see, there are only so many colors in the world and the number of colors has not changed much since the 1980s, when software ...
6
votes
3answers
202 views
Interviewing / hiring lawyers
What are some good questions to ask when hiring a business/startup lawyer?
Also, other than asking these questions in person, what are some sources (online or offline) where we can do more research ...
6
votes
7answers
571 views
Start with LLC and convert to corporation later
Is it possible to start with an LLC to avoid the overhead and convert to a corporation later when there is some visible traction and need for raising funds from outside investors?
6
votes
2answers
216 views
Do we need a lawyer before going live?
Once everything technical is said and done and we have a product to go live with, should we contact a lawyer? What kind of protection do we need from the "rotten eggs" out there? I know we need a TOS ...
6
votes
3answers
4k views
How do you actually setup a vesting agreement for co-founders w/out breaking the budget?
I'm based in Hong Kong. I've read through a lot of information about share vesting for co-founders and realized that is definitely the solution I want. I'm now trying to figure out how to actually go ...
5
votes
6answers
542 views
Can you be sued by a competitor simply for looking at their website?
I have been working on a SaaS product for about a year and a half (on and off, among other projects). Lately I have gotten serious about the product. While doing a routine evaluation of competitors ...
5
votes
5answers
669 views
Licensing. How to for a SaaS
We are currently developing a SaaS based software service and offer it to our customers as a monthly/yearly contract basis.
So in essence, they will pay us to host/maintain their stuff on our ...
5
votes
5answers
6k views
Should I agree to an indemnification clause?
I have a sole proprietorship in Canada, and sell software that I have created to corporations in the US. One of them has asked for an indemnification clause. First of all, I don't know how to write ...
5
votes
7answers
1k views
NDA, should I sign it?
I have this open-source project I run (http://www.mediabrowser.tv) a few months ago I posted on the business of software forum and my blog that I need to find a way to monetize it.
Since, I have ...
5
votes
5answers
425 views
how to deal with a slanderous website that is using a trademarked domain name
A friend of mine accidentally let the .com domain of their US business expire, and it was snatched up by an unknown person who has a personal grudge against them. The website is now full of slanderous ...
5
votes
5answers
1k views
How can I leave my startup and keep all of my shares?
I am really pleased I have found this forum as I need some help.
I am a co founder of a privately funded start up. We are having some success and we have just received some awards and have some ...
5
votes
7answers
679 views
Can a contract legally cover something that happened before its signing?
When we hired a new employee we forgot to make him sign an NDA. Now, a year into his employment, we want to make sure that he signs one. My question is, what language should I use in the contract to ...
5
votes
4answers
212 views
What is a good range for the legal fees on first round of investing?
We recently closed a first round of investing for 3 million and paid in excess of 150k for our legal fees. We used a reputable firm and were lead to believe that the costs would be around the 50k in ...
5
votes
4answers
5k views
Signing an NDA as an individual, not a company
I feel my question is silly, mainly because I am unaware of the English legal terms.
I am in the process of (legally) forming a small company for videogame development. I have created a game which I ...
5
votes
9answers
2k views
Are LLC and “S Corporation” the same thing? What are the differences?
From what I have read, both LLCs and S-Corps give you the benefits of a Corporation for legal purposes while avoiding double taxation.
However, I can't determine what the difference between the two ...
5
votes
5answers
310 views
Website - Do I need a lawyer?
In the next few days I want to start a gaming network.
Now I have written everything by myself and I am wondering about legal issues.
For example: Payment, User-agreement, TOS?
I currently live in ...
5
votes
3answers
507 views
How to handle Cease and Desist from huge company
I'm wondering what, if anything, my company should do about a cease and desist from a huge company. In a nutshell, we received a letter from a senior attorney to "cease any and all use of the trade ...
5
votes
5answers
605 views
Adding Shareholder Vesting after Incorporation — Bum Business Partner
I incorporated with a friend turned business partner, probably giving him too much of the company for the amount of work he was putting in simply because he was a friend. Since incorporation, he has ...
5
votes
4answers
254 views
In the agreement for hiring an offshore provider, should the governing jurisdiction be my country, theirs, or both?
I am considering hiring a firm in India for a website development and am in the process of drafting the agreement. I am located in Australia.
Standard agreements include a clause stating which ...
5
votes
7answers
201 views
New startup advice
I work for a church here in California as a gfx designer. 8 months ago I had an idea for a web service we could use at the church I work at. I spoke to my pastor (boss) about the idea and he said ...
5
votes
11answers
600 views
Where can I get free/cheap legal documents?
We're looking to hire our first employee and we want to make sure the employement and stock vesting stuff is all in order - we're in the UK so is it safe to assume that anything we read regarding USA ...
5
votes
4answers
125 views
A lawyer offered service for equity and potentially joining the company
A lawyer offered service for equity and potentially joining the company full time as legal counsel/business dev guy. Is this reasonable? What percentage of the company should I offer him? It's a ...
5
votes
1answer
474 views
One partner is refusing to sign a amendment shareholder's agreement, which would bring in a large investor
We started our small corporation 2 years ago with 3 partners - lets, call them Adam, Ben and Carl for argument's sake. Adam and Ben do all the work. Carl turns out to be a louse who is always angry ...
5
votes
2answers
157 views
Limiting liability of individual/small startup when selling software
If I make and sell some software (online if that matters), and say that software ends up causing some unexpected behavior (let's go extreme and say it deletes all data on the hard drive!). Am I liable ...
5
votes
5answers
289 views
are payments processors mutually exclusive?
I'm bootstrapping a software business for the first time. I worked in 'stealth mode' for one full-year and now I've got about 100 private-beta-testers loving the software (and already begging for ...
5
votes
4answers
13k views
Is there a Canadian equivalent of an LLC?
I'm looking to register a business name in Canada, however looking at the Revenue Canada web site I believe my only options are to register as either:
Sole Proprietorship: Downside here being that ...
5
votes
5answers
329 views
Partner leaving at an idea-stage start up
This question might sound dumb, but I'm at a complete loss of what to do.
My friend and I discussed starting a web site business years ago. For about a year and a half, we met every other weekend ...
5
votes
6answers
204 views
How do I prove my finances to a partner? My partner is afraid I will not give him his full cut
I own and operate a company selling products online. A partner is stepping in and wants to sell our product line across it's websites.
However, my company will accept the payments from the buyers. ...
5
votes
3answers
510 views
What is the legality of apps like Instapaper?
Just wondering if applications like Instapaper are legal and if so how?
I've read around a bit and it seems that because the data is being sent by the bookmarklet from the users machine to ...
5
votes
3answers
3k views
How important is it to have the original of a contract?
How important is it to have the original of a contract? Would having just a copy of a signed contract still make it enforceable? Is it any different than signing two copies of the same contract?
Is ...
5
votes
1answer
195 views
What does employment at will actually mean for an employee?
I've recently (5 months ago) signed and employment-at-will contract with a largish company. I start in 2 months. Given different scenarios, I want to figure out not only what this legally means, but ...
5
votes
3answers
208 views
What is legally required in order to accept monthly payments for a SaaS product?
I have been working on a web product for over a year now and I've finally gotten to the point where I've finished integrating the payment / subscription / credit card processor into the product, ...
5
votes
5answers
1k views
How to build a strong “Divorce Strategy” in an Operating Agreement
What types of things might I think about and incorporate into my operating agreement as it relates to a "divorce strategy" (either amicably or not). Please respond with good questions my partner and ...
5
votes
1answer
86 views
Disclosing names of customer companies without their permission?
A lot of websites show off their customer lists (ie: http://www.browserstack.com/) on their homepage as a way to get extra credibility with the potential user.
Before putting the logos/names of ...
5
votes
2answers
162 views
What type of work should I not do before being incorporated?
I'm working on an idea (consumer web) but am not yet incorporated. I am considering farming out some work to free lancers. Is there any issue in doing that before incorporation? What about my own ...
5
votes
6answers
986 views
When is a startup a conflict of interest with existing job?
I want to found a startup that offers library applications using a SaaS model. I also work for a state academic library as a System Analyst / Developer. Would founding such a startup be a conflict of ...
5
votes
3answers
123 views
Hiring from Competitors
I am thinking of hiring my staff from my competitor's firm, are there any legal issues in doing so? Both for my firm and for the new joining staff member?
Additional details: To be more specific, I ...
5
votes
3answers
519 views
What does it mean to “do business in state X” if you are an online service?
I am curious, when it comes to incorporating or forming an LLC, a lot of legalese harps on how you need to file papers in the state you're doing business in.
What if your startup
a) does not take in ...
5
votes
2answers
193 views
Having less equity than an investor
Suppose a company (C-Corp, Delaware) with 5 co-founders, each having 20% of the shares.
Then an investor wants 30% of the company, which will leave each co-founder diluted to 14%.
Besides control ...
4
votes
5answers
307 views
Prevented from seeing stock option plan
I've been working for large private software company (the last round of investment was very, very large) and my offer letter told me I would receive X number of options as long as the board approved ...
4
votes
4answers
383 views
what are the legal ramifications of an android app that uses third party music?
I was thinking of creating an Android game/app that plays a soundtrack from a movie, and prompts you to guess what movie it is from. My question is: what are the legal ramifications of an app like ...
4
votes
7answers
256 views
Falsify address of company on hosting website
My problem is that we're planning on using Windows Azure hosting, but we're from Jamaica. Windows Azure does not yet allow hosting in Jamaica. Is it okay for a company to falsify an address to get ...
4
votes
7answers
340 views
Would you sign this liability clause?
I am going to get this checked by a lawyer, but I was wondering if people generally sign a clause like this (as the Contractor)?
"The Contractor indemnifies --Company-- for all liability ...
