Browsing Tag
legal
37 posts
10 Tips for Landing a Product Licensing Deal
When you’ve got a great idea for a product, there’s an important decision to make right up front: Do you want to build a brand new company from the ground up in order to commercialize the product, or do you sign a product licensing deal with a preexisting company that already has the resources in...
The 7 Benefits of Forming a Corporation
Whether you are just starting your business or you have already been operating as a sole proprietorship or general partnership, you may be wondering about the benefits of forming your business as a corporation. Often, business owners think that incorporation is too costly or too time-consuming, and neither is the case. The benefits entrepreneurs gain...
Raising Capital for Your Startup: Top Legal Considerations to Know
It’s an issue every entrepreneur and new business must face: raising capital for your business. Even though you may start your business with your own nest egg or your company may be able to operate for a while on its own revenues, at some point, you’re likely to need outside funding to grow. While capital...
How I Choose to Lead My Law Firm in These Uncertain Times
One of the credos at the Mike Morse Personal Injury Law Firm is to be the best law firm to work for in Michigan. We came up with that 13 years ago. But during these unprecedented times, I keep asking myself, what does it really mean? I do think we have been the best law...
The Clause Your Company Contracts Need to Protect You During COVID-19
COVID-19 has had a major impact on businesses worldwide, and aspect in particular that it has affected is pre-existing contracts. What happens if you have entered into a contract with someone and you can no longer perform under that contract due to the restrictions of COVID-19 or vice versa? Sometimes, we don’t pay enough attention...
10 Reasons to Patent Your Startup’s New Invention
What would you do if your biggest competitor said your startup’s product infringes on its patent? What if you learned that the process your competitor uses to make its product infringes on a patent you own? Patents can provide powerful leverage for your business. Patents are versatile: a patent can cover your products, the machines...
What You Need to Know Before Applying for a Patent
What should an inventor do almost immediately upon creating a new invention? They must file a patent application. A patent, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the grant of a property right to the inventor. Once a patent has been granted to its inventor, the term may last for up...
Which 3 Types Of Patents Are Recognized by the USPTO?
If you have an idea for an invention, do you know what a patent is? How about the different types of patents? Patents protect the mechanisms, principles and components of an invention. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a patent for an invention is defined as “the grant of a property...
How to Protect Your Products in a Competitive Market
Startups thrive on innovation and disruption, finding new ways to tackle challenges and devise solutions. However, many new businesses don’t have a strong understanding of how to safeguard their innovations in highly competitive markets. This is where design patents and trade dress rights can play an important role. Even in the earliest stages of product...
How to Keep Your Money and Ideas for Yourself: Tips for Side Hustling on the Right Side of the Law
There are numerous ways to test out the waters of entrepreneurship these days. Virtual markets make it easy for thrifters and crafters to sell items online. Many people have launched consulting, writing and speaking careers through their blogs. Not to mention the abundance of mobile applications and websites to find freelance work. The possibilities seem...
Intellectual Property Considerations for Your Startup
Starting your own business is a new and exciting challenge that can be rewarding, but overwhelming. From the beginning, it’s important to consider the intellectual property associated with your business and ensure its protection and availability for use. There’s nothing worse than building a business and a brand around a name, later to find out...
Securing Your Startup’s Intellectual Property Rights: Patent vs. Trade Secret
Entrepreneurs and emerging companies often look for ways to protect their valuable assets. They want to secure their ideas and ultimately enforce their rights around them. Traditionally, there are four types of intellectual property rights: patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets. Patents and trade secrets are the two types of intellectual property rights that protect...
How Much Risk is Too Much? When to Look for Business Insurance Savings
As a business owner, you know you need to have business insurance to protect your company from risk and liability. However, you do not necessarily need to purchase a policy that covers every type of risk. Instead, you can pick and choose to end up saving hundreds or even thousands of dollars every year. There...
Types of Business Insurance You Need to Protect Your Startup
Denver sausage store owner Kathy Laurenti didn’t realize she was under-insured until it was too late. When a gun shop next door caught fire, water and smoke damage shut her business down, costing her an estimated $100,000 to reopen. Unfortunately, her business insurance only covered $10,000 for lost income. Stories like this are all too...
Do You Need Personal Liability Insurance for Your Business?
Everybody, whether they are business owners or not, should be covered by personal liability insurance. While it won’t cover business activities, business owners can use it as a safeguard for their finances and business assets. For example, if a neighbor went onto your property and got injured, your personal liability insurance would cover it. That...
5 Compliance Tips for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Starting your own business is a dream-come-true that comes with a long list of disclaimers. Yes, it’s exciting, but as most of you are well aware, it can also be a rough ride. One of the biggest challenges of running a startup or a small business is meeting the diverse legal requirements for your specific...
Side Hustle Insurance: Know the Facts
As an aspiring entrepreneur, you may decide to pursue a side hustle in order to fund early stages of the business, or launch your business while maintaining an income stream. Whether you’re driving for Uber on the weekends or creating the next innovative online platform, a side hustle is a great way to help drive...
Simplify Your Insurance with a Business Owners Policy
Whether you’re running a startup or are self employed, every small business owner faces risks. However, many small businesses are underinsured for various reasons. According to a survey conducted by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, nearly 60 percent of home-based businesses lack insurance. Nearly 30 percent of those surveyed said they aren’t insured...
Should You Change Your Sole Prop to a Corporation?
There are so many strategic business decisions you’ve got to make as a business owner, and you don’t always know which is the right one for your company. When you’re running a startup, it can be frustrating when you’re unsure of what to do for the benefit of your company. Related: Incorporate Your Business Through...
Does Your Business Need Key-Player Insurance?
Key-player insurance (also called “key-man” insurance and “key-person” insurance) offers protection should an essential member of a company pass away. It allows the show to go on, even without this critical person. “Key-man life insurance can be particularly important to a business that would suffer financially, or even its reputation, if a vital employee passed away,” Mike...