Articles
Our knowledge, distilled.
Every step of the way, startups have a lot to think about. We help ease that burden by considering all the angles and providing clients with clear, forward-looking advice. We know just how quickly the startup landscape can change, so we proactively outline emerging issues and provide actionable recommendations for managing the challenges and opportunities those developments present.
Maximizing Intellectual Property Protection: Balancing Patents and Trade Secrets for Startups
Understanding the pros and cons of using patents and trade secrets to safeguard IP, as well as the potential for strategically combining these approaches, can provide comprehensive protection for innovations.
Next Steps for Startups: Post-Incorporation Checklist
Now that your business is officially on the map, it is time to take the next crucial steps to ensure a solid foundation for growth and success. This checklist provides new businesses with a roadmap to navigate the post-incorporation phase efficiently.
Venturing Smart: Essential Practices and Precautions of the Venture Capital Advisers Exemption
The Venture Capital Adviser Exemption provides significant regulatory relief for investment managers that solely advise venture capital funds and can significantly decrease an investment adviser’s regulatory burdens.
Equity Compensation: Navigating 409A Valuations
This article demystifies 409A valuations for private companies: what they are, why do you need them, and how do you get them?
Crowdfunding: What It Is and When to Utilize It for Your Business
Crowdfunding offers several benefits that make it an attractive option for startups. Understanding these advantages as well as the limitations of crowdfunding can help entrepreneurs determine when crowdfunding is the preferable means of fundraising for their ventures.
Estate Planning for Founders - Part II: Planning with Qualified Small Business Stock
If you own stock that is QSBS, you are probably aware that you may be eligible to receive a significant exclusion on capital gains taxes when you sell your company. What founders do not often know is that they can multiply this exemption using certain types of trusts.
Savings Plans for Startups
Opening a retirement savings plan for employees (including founders!) is often a low-priority issue for startups and small businesses, but several states, including California, are trying to change that.
Trademark Fundamentals: Distinctiveness
Understanding the levels of trademark distinctiveness can help startup founders make informed decisions when selecting and registering trademarks.
Trademark Fundamentals: Likelihood of Confusion
A core concept in trademark law that every startup founder should understand is “likelihood of confusion.” This legal standard plays a pivotal role in both trademark registration and enforcement.
Trademark Fundamentals: Materials Ineligible for Trademark Protection
Not everything can be protected as a trademark. Certain types of material are specifically excluded from trademark protection under U.S. law. As a startup founder, it’s crucial to understand what cannot be registered as a trademark to avoid potential rejections and legal challenges.
Trademark Fundamentals: Opposition and Cancellation Proceedings
For startup founders, navigating the complexities of trademark law is essential for protecting your brand. An important aspect of this process involves understanding opposition and cancellation proceedings.
Trademark Fundamentals: Selecting Goods and Services for New Applications
As a startup founder, you’re often faced with numerous decisions that impact the future of your business. One such decision is how to approach trademark applications.
Trademark Fundamentals: Use in Commerce
Startup founders looking to protect their brands need to understand the concept of “use in commerce” to successfully register their trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Trademark Fundamentals: What Is a “Basis” for a Trademark Filing?
When applying to register a trademark, a critical component you will encounter is selecting a “basis” for the application.
Trademark Fundamentals: What Is a Specimen of Use?
As you dive into the world of trademarks to protect your brand, one element you will encounter during the registration process with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the “specimen of use.”
Trademark Fundamentals: What Is a Trademark?
For startups venturing into competitive business landscapes, protecting your brand is not just an option—it’s a necessity. One of the most effective ways to protect the investment you make in building your brand identity is through effective trademark management.
Trademark Fundamentals: Who Owns a Trademark?
When launching a startup, it’s crucial to establish a strong brand identity, which often includes selecting a unique name, logo and other identifiers that distinguish your products or services in the marketplace.
Protecting IP During Joint Development Projects: Agree on More than Non-Disclosure
In these joint-development scenarios where the ultimate product requires the integration of multiple systems devised by two or more specialized businesses, the involved parties should understand the consequences of sharing information and how it can impact their planned project outcome.
Don’t be Fooled: Employers Cannot Circumvent Wage and Hour Rules by Classifying Workers as Contractors!
Although companies may be tempted to classify workers as contractors to circumvent wage and hour rules, misclassification of employees can lead to significant legal liabilities, including back payment of wages, taxes and penalties.
Estate Planning for Founders – Part I: The Core Estate Plan
The fundamentals of an estate plan include a Revocable Trust, a Will, Powers of Attorney and an Advance Health Care Directive. With these documents, you can proactively plan for the future and make critical decisions for yourself, your family and your company.
Disclosure Schedules: What Are They and How Do They Fit into My Deal?
Whether you are tasked with driving an equity or debt financing to closing or with gearing up for an exit event, disclosure schedules will be one of the many documents that you will negotiate and deliver as part of the deal. So, what exactly are disclosure schedules, why are they important in your deal, and how can you best prepare to put them together?
Nevada Doesn’t Have Corporate or Personal Income Taxes: Should I Form There?
Though Nevada’s tax advantages and business-friendly reputation might appeal to startups with limited financial resources seeking to minimize costs and maximize returns for founders and investors, in most circumstances you will not be able to avoid the burden of state corporate taxes or personal income taxes simply by incorporating in the Silver State.
Moonlighting: When Should I Quit My Day Job?
Most founders cannot afford to quit immediately upon conceiving an idea. Here are a few considerations to mitigate risks related to a founder’s relationship with their employer.
Should I Incorporate on My Own?
Given the mass availability of “do-it-yourself” incorporation websites today, many founders might be tempted to save some cash by simply filing the incorporation documents with the Secretary of State themselves instead of consulting with a lawyer.