Domain Name Scams When starting a company, business owners will likely purchase at least one domain name along with registering a trademark for the business. Once those filings are completed, all too often scam artists will try to defraud the unsuspecting domain or trademark business owner. The domain name scams will be...
Oregon Benefit Company In January 2014, the State of Oregon began allowing businesses to register as an "Oregon benefit company." This is the result of a law that was passed in June 2013, and which makes Oregon one of about 20 states that now have enacted a benefit company law. Oregon law...
83 B Election The "83 B election" is one of those small tasks that startups (especially closely held companies) need to think about, but which is often also easily forgotten or ignored. The failure to take advantage of the election can be costly: a large tax bill for a shareholder years...
Employees and Independent Contractors New companies often want to classify any new workers as independent contractors instead of employees, in order to limit the company's costs. Costs attributable to hiring and retaining employees can be quite substantial, and include workers' compensation, unemployment insurance tax, social security tax, and withholding and local...
Transferring Copyrights As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, "Copyright Laws," copyrights give their owners a bundle of exclusive rights -- to copy, distribute and perform. Owners can voluntarily transfer any or all of these rights in a variety of unique ways, including by wholly transferring copyrights all together,...
Choosing A Corporate Entity Choosing a corporate entity should be one of the first decisions you’ll make when starting up your new business. It may seem easy to skip this step, and instead forge ahead as a sole proprietor, but this rarely makes sense. An entity protects your personal assets from...
Establishing a TrademarkTrademarks are often one of the most valuable pieces of intellectual property a business can own since they identify and set a business apart from its competitors. As a result, establishing a trademark can be one of the most important steps in growing a business's brand.Many businesses view...
Copyright Laws A copyright is extremely easy to obtain. Under federal copyright laws, an author need only come up with an original work and then "fix it in a tangible medium of expression." That's it -- you've automatically got a copyright in your new work, and the copyright lasts for your...