Ownership of intellectual property is a critical issue in many contract negotiations. Learn the basics about what entrepreneurs should know in this post. Intellectual property is often the most valuable asset of many companies, especially startups. That's why it is important to clearly address ownership of intellectual property in your contracts with third parties. [...]
There are those that use Oxford commas, and those that don't. Those that don't are wrong. Sorry, but we're not sorry. Here's why. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit issued a ruling this week that proves why Oxford commas are important. The facts are pretty simple. A dairy company in Maine refused to [...]
The MSA & SOW contract format is powerful. Here's why and how to use them. Many Kansas City startups, freelancers, and small business use MSAs and SOWs because they are efficient. Below is a recap on 1. What they are. 2. Why you should care. And 3. Best practices you might implement. 1. What [...]
If you operate a website, you should consider enacting a DMCA policy to limit your exposure to copyright infringement claims. In this post, we'll explain your risk and how you can protect your startup or small business. (You might also want to check out our two part series on terms of use and privacy policies - here [...]
The legal policies that accompany your startup's website or mobile app are important. Last week we explained why you might need them, this week we'll explain what goes in them. Terms of Use As we explained last week, your Terms of Use are legal terms that your users accept and agree to when they [...]
When you launch a website or app you are probably not thinking about legal issues, but you should. Depending on what your website or app does, you may need legal terms to protect you. In this post you'll learn the basics of Terms of Use and Privacy Policies and why you might need them. In [...]
Here are four tips to help you avoid signing a poorly drafted NDA. You may not need to bother with an NDA if you are only sharing high level information. But if you are sharing your secret sauce (the information that gives you a competitive advantage), then you should consider whether an NDA is [...]
This is the second post in a series about the innocent looking boilerplate provisions at the end of your contract that are more important than you might think. In the first post, we explained seven boilerplate provisions related to the interpretation of your contract and in this post we'll explore five common legal provisions that impact your rights if a [...]
Don't be fooled by the innocent looking boilerplate provisions at the end of your contract - they are more important than you might think. Nearly every contract concludes with a set of standard boilerplate provisions (sometimes called the miscellaneous section). These provisions deal with the interpretation of the contract's terms and enforcement of the contract. [...]
Writing numbers twice is unnecessary. It's legalese, hard to read, and worse, more likely to cause a mistake. Let's stop doing it! Let me explain why it should end... Many lawyers love to write numbers twice For example: "Louise agrees to work at Bob's restaurant for ten (10) hours on Saturday." Some lawyers say it provides clarity. [...]