Home Firm Practice Lawyers Fees Articles Resources News Sitemap Contact Disclaimer
Choice of Business Entity for Startup
In Canada business entities considered by entrepreneurs include: (1) sole proprietorships, (2) partnerships and limited partnerships and (3) corporations. Each of these entities has advantages as well as disadvantages. Choice of the entity is usually not irrevocable, and often an initial decision will be made with the understanding that, at the appropriate time, a different form of organization will be used.
Protection of Intellectual Property in Startup
Aside from competence of management team, control of intellectual property is a major focus of investor scrutiny. The ability to identify and protect intellectual property directly reflects on investor confidence and the resulting access to capital available to technology start-up. Protection of intellectual property assets is available through the law of copyright, trade secrets, patents and trademarks.
eCommerce
We can provide advice as to the correct legal structures and jurisdictions for your e-commerce business. These range from choosing the right legal entity for a start-up business - whether than means a limited liability company, or otherwise - to guiding the mature company through complex mergers and acquisitions, to formulating management and capitalization structures that make sense for your business, to handling a full range of internal and external financing options. The goal of our corporate services is to position your business for maximum growth and flexibility. We provide all of the corporate services required by any business, then add the specialized services required for e-commerce.
The intellectual property of the e-commerce business is often its most valuable asset. We help your company protect, develop, and exploit its existing intellectual property, and proactively seek ways to create new intellectual property rights arising from new business methods or concepts. We can help your company protect the information of our e-commerce clients through confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, and protect from the actions of former employees through restrictive covenants tailored for the client's business. We can handle all trademark, patent and related filings and litigation both through in-house capabilities and affiliate relationships with intellectual property law firms whose specialized expertise is complimentary to our own.
If the intellectual property of an e-commerce company is often its most valuable asset, then negotiating and crafting licensing agreements is often a key function of the e-commerce lawyer. We ensure that we understand the business motivations underlying the license agreement, whether to acquire complimentary technology, develop distributions systems for existing technology, create business partnerships, or generate cash flow. We understand that as the technology industry changes so rapidly, licensing agreements must be flexible and adaptable - the contract that was satisfactory three years or three months ago may not be satisfactory any longer.
Beyond licensing agreements, the typical e-commerce business often differs from its traditional counterpart in the number of alliances it creates with other businesses, the importance of these alliances, and the speed with which they change. The e-commerce business is, in many cases, like the hub of a wheel, with spokes (contracts) connecting it to a multitude of outsourced services and business partners. We understand the important of these relationships and the need to deal with them through flexible and creative contracts.
Our strategies are tailored to the individual needs of each client, with an emphasis on efficiency and cost-effective use of resources. We believe strongly that effective use of technology enables us to serve our clients better and to conserve their financial resources. Technology is not an end in itself, but rather a tool that, when properly used, can bring significant efficiency to the delivery of legal services. Our philosophy is to apply our significant technology resources to our clients' needs in a cost-effective way that contributes value to our clients' pursuit of their objectives.