Start Up Wednesdays - Legal Workshop

Setting Up
Tell the tax man you are making money! 
Sole Trader / Partnership - simple yet risky. 
Company - separates business and personal assets, more complex, less risky. 

Company Structure
Owner (members)
Board (managers)
Staff/workers/volunteers. 
There is no reason why all of these jobs can't be done by the same person. 

Name Checks
IPO - intellectual property office. 
Direct Gov Company House. 
Just google it. 
Check you're not infringing anyone's Trademark (TM).
You have to pay to appear on IPO. 
Register a brand for 10 years for £170. 
Do not use the National Business Register - unreliable and moneymaking. 

Intellectual Property
Keep sketches and development work to prove the work is your own if a dispute arises. 
Patents - for inventions or something that has never been seen before. Pricey - 30K at least. 
Confidentiality agreement / Non disclosure agreement (NDA) - secret projects, prevent stealing of ideas until release. 
Design rights - protecting the look of something, usually shape. 
Copyright - this does not need to be registered, if something is produced in a permanent form then copyright stands. It's a good idea to include a copyright clause/footer on websites and social media accounts. 
Copyright lasts for 70 years after the end of the year that the author dies. 
Resale rights - DACS, royalties. 

Buy/Sell/Licence 
A commission is for the time and energy. 
You can sell the physical object but don't sell the rights to it. 
Non-exclusive - time limited, licence fee, limited territory. 

Contracts
Verbal agreements are legally binding. 
Buying copyright has to be written to be legally binding. 
A freebie is not legally binding, something must be exchanged.

Force Majeure
Unforeseen circumstances which means you cannot meet the requirements of the contract. 
Outside of your control.  

Records
Always keep records of communication, payment, work, etc...