Privacy Policy and/or Terms Of Use

2010-01-21T04:25:01Z

What is the difference between these two legal documents? Do I need both for a website? Thanks!

Intern Hiring Docs

2010-01-20T22:54:16Z

When hiring an intern (paid or unpaid), what legal documents are generally needed?

Caveat Emptor for Early Investor

2010-04-17T00:22:37Z

Is there any way for an early investor to compensate for a huge mistake: not having hired an attorney to vet a Subscription Agreement for a recent tech start-up? The Company has since gone on to do Bridge Loan financing (where I wised up and hired an attorney to oversee the Convertible Note terms) and then acquired Series A funding through several VC firms. The original Common shares, alas, have been diluted ten-fold. There's a new funding series projected for early fall.

What if anything can be done to prevent further dilution of the Common shares? Although my attorney was able to negotiate somewhat the terms of the Preferred shares from Series A, the majority shareholders are still calling all the shots--and I suspect that the later investors will take no prisoners, either.

What legal protections should a web startup put in place?

2010-01-25T00:01:28Z

My company has launched a web app - StartupToDo.com. How specifically do I protect my application's name? Since the site is a subscription-based training site that will soon have a major productivity app component, should it be a trademark or a servicemark or what?

What liability might we have for paid information/advice provided on a web site by "experts?"

2010-02-26T00:38:45Z

My partners and I are contemplating an idea which would involve paid advice via a web site.

We are wondering if there is case law or other guidance (precedents, etc.) about the degree of liability the site would have (assuming the normal disclaimers that all users of the site do so at their own risk, etc.) if someone does not like the advice they receive.

We understand the landmines associated with licensed professionals (doctors, lawyers, etc.), so we are less concerned about these topics than we are about something like home repair advice that a user uses to botch a do-it-yourself project, for example.

Is it possible to provide some general guidance about this topic?

Trademark Name AND Logo?

2010-02-18T14:39:39Z

I have an application that is about to launch. I currently have a blog account associated with it, so it is 'in service' i think.

Should I trademark both the name of the product AND the logo, or is the name enough? In my case, the logo is a graphical representation of the text, if that makes a difference.

Thanks!

Eric

How do I get rid of cybersquatters?

2010-01-20T22:11:41Z

I'm having issues with a couple of cybersquatters who have started camping out on other variations of my domain. Do I have any rights to get them back easily?

Protection against current employer?

2010-02-18T05:51:52Z

I have started a micro-ISV but am not doing it full time yet and am currently employed through another employer. What legal advice would you give for me to protect my IP from my current employer? I have already replaced all the software I am using with my own copies and license keys so I am not using any of my current employers software. What else should I do?

Handling Trademark Infringement

2010-01-25T16:39:33Z

Bit of back story first. I searched, and found a name for a startup I did a few years ago. The domain was squatted, so I purchased it. I applied for a trademark on the name, and had a local ad agency come up with a really cool logo. I never filed a trademark on the logo itself, but the trademark on the name came back approved later and remains active today.

Over time, we changed the logo around a bit on the internal user specific pages of the site (like using it in a plain font format), but never stopped using the original logo on our business cards, stationary, and sections of the site like the about us page.

I "recently" discovered a company who's name and logo are shockingly similar to ours, and who has a VERY similar business. If I told you the name of our company, you'd probably be able to guess the other company's name as well. Without going into details, let me say the names are both short, and only differ by one letter. The "look" and sound of the changed letter is almost identical. If I showed you the logos, and how even the colors are the same, you'd know something was fishy.

I did a search on the trademark on their name, and it was applied for well after ours. Our first use in commerce date on the trademark search site precedes theirs by less than a year, but we were clearly using it well before they filed, or were awarded the trademark. Either way, our name trademark precedes theirs.

They have registered their logo, and have put several descriptive elements on the registration, like "letters 3 or more" and discussing the shape of the logo. I emailed the designer that did our logo and asked him when it was completed. This morning he replied with a date that is nearly 4 years older than the filing of the other company's logo.

It's simply not fair this other company has taken our name/logo and gone off and done business with it. They've launched multiple products which have eroded our ability to be recognizable in the space. I can't have conversations with people interested in our technology because they think somehow my company is this other company. The reason I'm now looking into trademark infringement is because it has become increasingly difficult to talk to anyone about my company without confusion ensuing.

I'm seeking legal assistance. I'll pull the trigger on it if I think I have a solid enough argument to approach these guys. They certainly aren't going to stop using the mark or name though, so I doubt it's an option to ask them to change their name. They are making north of 8 figures a year now, if that helps indicate the impossibility of them changing names.

Does anyone have an idea of other companies who have defended their brand against a larger company? What are the typical outcomes of these conversations? Do one-letter off names end up infringing if in the same space most of the time, or does it depend?

Thanks for listening!

Partnership Agreement

2010-01-28T04:38:03Z

A few months back I formed a web startup focusing on the travel industry. Recently I took on a minority partner to handle the development. Between the two of us we own 100% of the equity.

I plan to run the business under my existing corporation since it's already established. I used to do consulting, but that work has ceased so I can devote all my efforts to this new venture.

I need advice on how to go about putting in place a formal agreement between myself and my partner. I want to spell out the equity split and put in place standard protections for both of us in case one of us walks away.

I've heard of horror stories where founders leave the company, then the companies become successful without them, and then they show back up expecting a piece of the pie. I've heard that it's common to use concepts like founder's shares to handle this, but I don't know much about it and am looking for some advice in this area.

I'm self-funding the venture (partner is putting in sweat equity only), so if there is a low-cost or free way of doing this, then I'd like to go that route. Thanks for any advice you can provide!

Trademark protection

2010-01-25T17:30:39Z

How do I arrange a worldwide trademark protection for a brand name and/or a logo? And what is this going to cost me the first time and for maintenance?

Employee Intellectual Property

2010-01-20T23:07:41Z

At a previous employer I had to sign an agreement stating that any intellectual property created while at that employer was owned by the employer.

What's the minimum level of documentation that is needed to "prove" that any work I've done was done after hours so that I can prove ownership (to be clear the work is mostly computer related: software projects, etc.)

How should I form my startup if partner is not citizen

2010-02-01T03:46:12Z

My friend and I are looking to create a startup. However, when we talk about business structures, we are not sure is we should start a corporation (which type) or some other business organization legal structure.

Is there a structure that is more logical? Would one structure be better to sponsor his travel/work in the US until he gets his green card?

warehouse question

2010-01-20T22:35:17Z

I own a warehousing business and one of my customers has disappeared and has not paid their storage fees in months. The customer has left their inventory at my warehouse and now I am wondering what my options are with the inventory. How long do I have to wait until I can get rid of this inventory? Are there any legal steps I need to take in order to take possession of the merchandise?

Breach of Contract

2010-01-20T23:30:43Z

I own a medical sales distributorship and am having issues enforcing a contract. I have a client who signed a purchase order and contract to purchase capital medical equipment. The contract was approved by the client's lawyers. The client has not delivered the downpayment, which was due at the time of the signing of the purchase order, and they now want to cancel the order. They have not made a payment but they have signed the PO and contract. What is my next step for obtaining payment and enforcing the purchase? Thanks.

Regarding streaming cover version of songs.

2010-02-01T15:10:12Z

I have an idea for a startup that involves uploading cover versions of songs to a website.

I'm aware that youtube has had some trouble with this kind of thing, but wouldn't it be feasible to come with some sort of agreement with the recording industry to make this possible? Would this be prohibitly expensive?

Or is this sort of thing in a juridic grey area where nobody knows what's wrong or right?

Micro ISV startup "Legal guide"

2010-01-29T19:31:20Z

Hi.

I'm Ukrainian entrepreneur going to launch my micro ISV startup. It is a shareware (try before you buy) Windows desktop application. The application will provide a collection of English sayings, proverbs and quotations to its users - USA (or other English speaking customers).

From legal perspective I think about following issues:

1) Ensure the name I choose for app is not taken already and protect it in future (copyright).

2) EULA for app, and Privacy policy or Terms of use for my web site.

3) I'm not sure whether quotations I grab have been copyrighted.

4) I don't need partnership agreement and LLC for now because I'm solo. but maybe NDA for freelancers I hire?

So, can I do this job myself? Is there any kind of guide to follow for Micro ISVs? What is your price?

Thanks.

Is a name like MicrosoftTools ok?

2010-01-26T23:11:11Z

Hi,

Is it ok to name my company or service MircosoftTools (microsofttools.com) or Office Tools (officetools.com) or Office2007Tools (office2007tools.com)?

I basically want to start a utility site, but I want to make sure that Microsoft doesn't sue me for using their name, or their office brand in my name.

How does this work?

Thanks

David

Apple and Antitrust

2010-01-24T08:39:56Z

Given Apple's dominance in mobile application sales are they setting themselves up for an Anti-Trust lawsuit. This software developer lays out some reasons why he feels their practices are stifling innovation, but I'm not sure that's enough of a reason.

What is the difference between a EULA and Terms of Service for a web application?

2010-01-20T22:58:30Z

Where should they be included? Does the user have to agree to each?

Code and Creative Commons

2010-01-20T22:23:13Z

I'm trying to evaluate what license to release some code under and I really like the simplicity of the CreativeCommons offerings, but am not sure that they seem more geared to discrete things like pictures, novels, etc.

Is it possible to release software code under a CreativeCommons license or should I just stick to things like Apache, GPL or MIT.

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