Legal stuff can sound boring and dull, I get it. Consider the consequences: lawsuits, products being stolen from you, no laws being broken, penalties and fines, as well as higher taxes. Do I now have your complete attention?
These are essential business basics. These basic rights and obligations will keep your business, clients, and products safe. They are easy to understand once you have a good understanding of the five essential rights and obligations.
1. Photos
First, a photo marked “Royalty Free” does not necessarily mean that it is free to use. All Royalty Free simply means that you don’t have to pay anything unless you follow the terms of service, which can vary from one photo to another and may include a fee. This applies to photos that are “Creative Commons”. You should not assume that you are allowed to use photos marked in this manner without knowing the terms.
Stock photos can be used smartly by purchasing them from legitimate stock photo sites. They will take care of all the legalities and grant you the rights you require in return for the price of the photo.
Remember that you could be held responsible if the web designer or VA uses illegitimate photos on your site.
2. Contracts
No matter the size of the project, every person working for you needs to sign a contract. Period.
While you can find basic fill-in the blank agreements online for contractors it is important to ensure they are legal. To ensure they are current, you should review them at least once a year.
3. Trademarks
Trademarks can be used to protect the names of products and brands.
To determine if you are violating a trademark registered under your company name or any other products, it is important to do a trademark search. Small businesses have been destroyed by trademark violations in the past.
You can secure a trademark for the name as long as it isn’t already protected. You will need to create a plan for regular monitoring for trademark violations. A Google Alert is an easy way to check.
4. Copyrights
Many entrepreneurs believe they are protected if they use a copyright symbol (c), on any product they make. This is not true. This is not true.
To make your copyright enforceable, you must register it. This can be done for your books, e-books and products as well as for your blog posts, blogs, photos and websites.
On the US Copyright Office website, you can search for and get copyrights.
5. Business Structure
There are six ways to structure your small business. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses. You can choose which structure works best for your business based on who you are, what you do with taxes, and how much you plan to make.
If you aren’t sure if your business is properly set up, the Small Business Administration provides a list of options.