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California and Idaho startups in the entertainment, media, and advertising industries should be aware of basic information regarding copyrights.  What is copyright and what does it protect?  Copyright protects an idea once it’s been put into an expression. For example, books, sculptures, films, art, and computer code can be copyrighted. Copyright covers creative works.  Copyright …

Copyright law basics: Infringement and DMCA takedown notices Read More »

California and Idaho startups should be aware of key terminology associated with venture deals.  Below is a list of the most common words and terms used by founders, startups, and venture capitalists – and their definition or common meaning: Antidilution  A term that provides price protection for investors. This is accomplished by effectively repricing an …

Startup and Venture Capital Vocabulary Read More »

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) protect a company’s confidential information and should be a standard document curated by both California and Idaho startups. Startups should understand the key components of NDAs to best protect their confidential information. There are generally two types of NDAs: a one-sided NDA and a mutual NDA. This blog post will discuss contractual …

Key terms in a startup’s non-disclosure agreement Read More »

Idaho and California startups should be aware of which types of contracts are essential to protect their intellectual property. There are three primary contracts startups should consider when creating, assigning, and protecting its intellectual property: Technology Assignment Agreements (TAA), Confidentiality and Invention Assignment Agreements (CIAA of CIIAA), and Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs).  In order to determine …

Three essential contracts that protect a startup’s intellectual property Read More »

California and Idaho startups should understand different categories of Intellectual Property in order to determine how best to protect these assets.  As a practical matter, a variety of different assets can be considered intellectual property. A non exhaustive list of IP includes: technology, brands and marks, data, customer information, business processes, people and know how, …

What type of intellectual property does your startup own? Read More »

It is important for franchisors and franchisees to have a clear understanding of how to terminate the franchise contract. Thankfully for both parties, there is some consistency among Franchise Registration states. Those states are California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. If you are a …

Franchise termination laws in every state Read More »

Some California and Idaho investors might consider opening a franchise as an investment opportunity. But before they do, it’s important to become familiar with what a franchise is. What is a franchise? A franchise is contract that outlines a specific type of business relationship between the “franchisor” and “franchisee”. The franchisor is the party who …

Franchise law basics — what is franchising Read More »

Why is it important for California and Idaho start-ups to issue stock options at fair market value? Part of the reason is 409A. 409A is a tax provision whose goal is to reduce corporate excess like deferred payouts to company executives. However, 409A has also been interpreted to cover stock options if the exercise price …

Stock options — Why founders need 409a valuations Read More »

So what type of stock options should California and Idaho start-up founders offer their employees? This can depend on your goals. There are two types of stock options a start-up founder can offer: nonqualified stock options (“NSO”) and incentive stock options (“ISO”). These terms are IRS tax classifications so the primary difference is how the …

Stock options: ISO vs NSO Read More »

When considering how to compensate employees, California and Idaho startups might want to consider offering stock options to their non-founder employees. Stock options are a type of equity compensation for employees that take the form of a contract. This contract allows employees to buy stock in the future at a set price per share (Exercise …

Stock options issued to key startup employees Read More »