There are several legal aspects you should know about when it comes to running a small business. All the basic legal issues you need to consider are discussed below.
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Internal Structure
You can protect your assets by forming an LLC to help grow your business. You’ll need an attorney’s help to choose the right corporate form. Although you might think having a C-corporation might be the best, the attorney would let you know that an S-corporation would be the smartest for you.
Intellectual Property
Your business’s intellectual property is the core of your livelihood. A trademark would protect your logo, name, slogan, and any name for products. Copyright licenses would protect your original work. If your company has inventions, patents will protect them from being replicated.
Do your research before registering trademarks, patents, and copyrights. You can prevent yourself from violating any other companies’ work. A lawyer can help handle the paperwork.
Lawsuits
Let’s say you’re going to sue a client or another brand. You’ll need a good set of lawyers to win. Cash to handle the lawsuit financing would be needed. Something that would help is going for settlement funding. You can get money to handle all the expenses of the lawsuit.
If you’re interested in settlement funding in Vancouver, look for a financing company that offers the least interest.
Real Estate
The documentation to lease a commercial space is complex, so a real-estate lawyer would be needed. There would be a lot of paperwork if you’re going to buy the property.
Employment Issues
There should be a contract between you and your employees. It should comply with your country’s employment laws.
Draft the document carefully, as you want workers to clearly understand their obligations. The contract should also safeguard your intellectual property and the company’s confidential information. It should have a clause stating that workers are not allowed to divulge what’s going on in the business to outside parties.
Internal Agreements
For your business to last in the long run, the internal process needs to run smoothly. Have agreements set with co-founders and investors. This would make sure that if there is a change in management, time and money wouldn’t be wasted.
Taxes
Depending on how your business is structured, the taxes you might have to pay would differ. Hire a lawyer to figure out the most advantageous business structure for you.
Also, work with a good accountant. He or she would make sure your taxes are always paid. A good accountant would help you keep track of your finances too, and whether specific business moves would be profitable or not.
There are several legal aspects that you should keep in mind if you want to flourish. Make sure that you’ve protected your assets. The business structure you choose would affect this, and your tax obligations. Have your intellectual property trademarked and copyrighted. This would prevent anyone else from trying to steal original work. Be sure to research and not violate any other business’s trademark and copyrights.