Legal Questions

Essential legal issues that startups face, including corporate formation, fundraising documentation, founders stock, and board relations.

4 Votes
4 Answers
2.66K Views
Startup Employment Considerations

A former co-worker of mine has started an LLC that is owned 100% by him. He has asked me to assist him in market research / analysis and sales, based on the theory that I will come on board and be...

asked Nov 25 '09 at 19:02
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Jz199
59 points

4 Votes
2 Answers
11K Views
Is it legal to display album art and artist images on my website?

I'm working on a music review website and I was wondering what the legality was of displaying album art and artist images on the site. Do I need permission from the labels/artists?

asked Nov 28 '09 at 22:20
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Kjf
123 points

7 Votes
5 Answers
2.85K 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...

asked Dec 1 '09 at 07:00
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Tim J
8,346 points

4 Votes
2 Answers
4.85K Views
How to get license rights for copyrighted images/themes?

How do I go about licensing material for use on t-shirts? For example, pac-man on a shirt. What is a typical licensing arrangement fee structure? If the company you are looking to license an image...

asked Dec 2 '09 at 08:31
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Ryan
40 points

3 Votes
3 Answers
2.72K Views
What are the pitfalls of incorporating *after* launching a new website with partner(s)?

A friend and I are working on a website which we hope to launch before the end of the year. We would like to put off the actual incorporation for as long as possible (legal, accounting, & other...

asked Dec 6 '09 at 07:47
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John Mac Intyre
1,086 points

1 Votes
5 Answers
2.68K Views
Are you required to claim ownership of the site?

Are you required to claim ownership of the site by your company in the footer or the about page? You know something like "onstartups.com is owned by Onstartups, LLC" or "Copyright: Onstartups,...

asked Nov 8 '09 at 03:22
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User1376
9 points

1 Votes
3 Answers
6.53K Views
How to form a Parent Company?

I want to create a parent company that has various companies under it's umbrella. I want to have a board for each company because they're in different industries. How can I offer board members...

asked Nov 11 '09 at 13:45
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Drew Little
41 points

4 Votes
3 Answers
2.55K Views
Do large law firms add credibility to a startup, or just cost?

I am just starting to engage with attorneys for my startup, and am wondering if working with a large, Silicon Valley firm adds credibility to the venture? Firms like Wilson Sonsini Goodrich Rosati,...

asked Nov 12 '09 at 07:08
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Joe
298 points

0 Votes
2 Answers
1.94K Views
Twittpages.com : Trademark Infringement?

Is the twittpages.com domain name infringing the trademark of Twitter.com?

asked Nov 15 '09 at 09:13
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Drew Little
41 points

2 Votes
1 Answers
2.33K Views
What's a cost-effective route to registering a company in the UK?

I've seen web services (e.g., companiesmadesimple.com, swiftformations.com, companyformations247.co.uk) that offer to register a company in the UK. Prices start low. companyformations247.co.uk is...

asked Nov 18 '09 at 01:36
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Carl
13 points

3 Votes
4 Answers
3.6K Views
Legal question + website copy protection?

My work partner and I have just finished to built a new community website about sport. We also have created a Private Limited Company in UK (with the help of an accountant). We both don't know...

asked Nov 18 '09 at 23:19
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Fabrice
23 points

4 Votes
2 Answers
3K Views
Good 'starter' SOW or Contracts for Consultant business?

I run a consulting biz on the side (just me), doing odd IT jobs ranging from web development / design / db management etc; I have typically made small contracts or statements of work for the jobs,...

asked Nov 20 '09 at 07:58
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Jakub
133 points

2 Votes
3 Answers
2.98K Views
Software content/output ownership

Does a ISV have the right to add a watermark to the export of users content, like video, images or pdf’s for paid noncommercial users? The idea is to prevent commercial users creating and selling...

asked Nov 20 '09 at 10:21
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Ben Martin
113 points

2 Votes
4 Answers
5.09K Views
Is it possible to open a US bank account if you not US resident?

Related to this question here, if I'm not a US permanent resident, is it possible for me to get an account in US banks? If possible, what are the prerequisites? Has anyone been in this situation...

asked Oct 25 '09 at 12:24
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Jpartogi
1,342 points

4 Votes
4 Answers
3.29K Views
Legal rights about showing who's using your product

Can I list some of our clients on our website without their knowledge or do we need any specific permission from them? I understand that it's always the best practice get a specific permission...

asked Oct 28 '09 at 21:15
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The Dictator
2,305 points

0 Votes
2 Answers
2.8K Views
How do I engage an international student with a contract?

I'm considering hiring a software developer in Germany. He's a student so he's unlikely to have any type of corporate structure set up. I've had numerous conversations with him online, and we get...

asked Oct 29 '09 at 08:32
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Danpickett
263 points

2 Votes
4 Answers
2.47K Views
Legality of using sweepstakes to spawn viral twitter campaign

What if run a twitter campaign like so: Tweet FooBarCompanyXYZ.com for chance to win $xxx.xx Is this legal? Is there some sort of rules about sweepstakes, etc? I live in Arkansas. Do you have any...

asked Nov 1 '09 at 08:26
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Jeffrey Hicks
313 points

2 Votes
4 Answers
3.66K Views
Reasonable budget to prepare a shareholder agreement

What's a reasonable budget for forming a proper shareholder agreement in a new start up, formed as a corporation to be owned between 4 founder/shareholders? I understnad there's some variation...

asked Nov 3 '09 at 04:16
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Michael
250 points

5 Votes
9 Answers
5.9K 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...

asked Nov 5 '09 at 23:08
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El Presidente
26 points

4 Votes
5 Answers
3.84K Views
Getting Unemployment While Doing a Startup

A close friend of mine just got laid off. He has a real good idea for a startup and is about to get a business license and start working on it. He wants to know if this can have any impact on...

asked Nov 6 '09 at 07:57
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Chris
4,214 points