Legal Information and Resources

People often ask if they can sell an idea for a new product or service to a company that will implement it. But ideas that can’t be protected are worth relatively little. I don’t mean necessarily legally protected, but at the very least, protected with marketing momentum, image, and awareness.
Relatively few of the well-known successful […]

Although lots of contracts are filled with mind-bending legal gibberish, there’s no reason why this has to be true. For most contracts, legalese is not essential or even helpful. On the contrary, the agreements you’ll want to put into a written contract are best expressed in simple, everyday English.
All that is necessary for most contracts […]

A sole trader is a business that is owned by one person (and sometimes his or her spouse) and that isn’t registered as a corporation or a limited liability company.
Sole proprietorships are so easy to set up and maintain that you may already own one without knowing it. For instance, if you are a freelance […]

I don’t think you really can protect a business idea in any practical way. If it is a good idea it will be copied. That’s in the nature of business. Your only hope is to launch it yourself and execute the idea so well that your imitators are scared off.
Please Business ideas aren’t protected
In 30 […]

When starting a new business you may need start-up funds but lack the money to invest yourself. What are your options, can it be done without losing equity in the company?
Start off by thinking about it from the other side. If you had £500,000, what would make you want to give it to you and […]

Most people have heard that forming a corporation provides “limited liability” — that is, it limits your personal liability for business debts. What you may not know is that there’s more to creating and running a corporation than filing a few papers. You’ll need to keep excellent records to handle the more complicated corporate tax […]

If you and your partners don’t spell out your rights and responsibilities in a written partnership agreement, you’ll be ill-equipped to settle conflicts when they arise, and minor misunderstandings may erupt into full-blown disputes.
How a partnership agreement helps your business
A partnership agreement allows you to structure your relationship with your partners in a way that […]

Many business partners overlook a critical element of their partnership agreement that can save them both money and angst: buy-sell provisions. When you create buy-sell, or buyout, provisions for your partnership agreement, you and your partners can prepare for events that have been the downfall of more than a few successful small businesses — namely, […]

While diligently filing articles of incorporation and adopting bylaws, many company owners overlook a critical element of their business relationship: buy-sell, or buyout, provisions. By creating a shareholders’ agreement with buy-sell provisions, the owners of a small, privately held corporation can prepare for events that have been the downfall of more than a few successful […]

Starting your own business can be a daunting task. Here are seven steps that can start you in the right direction.
Step 1: Personal evaluation.
Begin by taking stock of yourself and your situation. Why do you want to start a business? Is it money, freedom, creativity, or some other reason? What skills do you have? What […]