As a business owner, you are going to need to use a business legal form for almost anything you do. It doesn’t matter if you just hired someone to mop floors or if you signed a new contract with a competitor to buy him out, a business legal form will be crucial for you, just so long as you want to run a legitimate tax paying business.
Contracts – this is the most common business legal form. There are hundreds of thousands of possibilities of who can sign a contract with and for what. Any time that you do business with anyone, make up a contract that both of you can agree on. There is nothing worse than going into business with someone that ends up not pulling their weight. But now with a contract, if someone is not pulling their weight, the contract can be pulled out and evaluated and maybe files could be charged.
Employment Records – as an entrepreneur, you need a business legal form for every person that has worked for you. Depending on the state that you live in will depend on how long you have to keep these records. The record should include employees name, social security number, wage, employment dates, and any other information that the company keeps on record, such as write ups.
Other Legal Forms – if you are going to bring charges against someone or vice versa, then you will need legal forms lying around the office at all times, since you never know what could happen. Tax Forms – when it comes to taxes, a business legal form is much different than a regular tax form that most of America does. The business tax form has tons of space for loopholes and deductions, as well as write offs, mergers, and stock status. Every business must file a tax return and it would help if the business legal forms were handy and nearby.
As you can see a business legal form is required of every business. They are just a few important documents that can be lived without.
If you want more information on a business legal form, check out this: http://www.squidoo.com/bankruptcyrecord/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mikee_Dunn
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Intellectual Property is Your Greatest Asset - Four Ways to Create Value
Intellectual Property makes you or your business worth more than you can be worth on your own. IP lets you command a premium for your services. It lets you make money in your sleep. It lets you create a business that can be sold to others or passed on to your heirs.
Too often IP discussions focus only on legal rights: patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, domain names and right of publicity. These are important, of course. But the are the merely legal tools for protecting key business assets. The starting point for IP should be the underlying assets: information, innovation, content, brands, names, reputation, websites, and more.
Applying IP rights to these key assets can create value in four important ways.
1. Charge a premium for your goods and services.
Consider generic cola v. COKE. Why is one worth more? Because Coca-Cola has used IP to enhance the value of a simple commodity. It receives a premium because it has a secret formula and a distinctive well-known brand. Generic cola has a formula, too, but its not secret; it also has a name, but it is not distinctive. Anyone can make cola and use the cola name. IP keeps COKE from being copied. The formula is protected as a trade secret and the brand is protected as a trademark.
2. Earn additional revenue.
Consider the average software developer v. Microsoft. The software developer is a knowledge worker paid for her labor. If she doesn't work, she can't make any money. Without her work, her business has no value. Microsoft uses IP to turn the product of many knowledge workers into property that can be licensed and sold. Once that is done, Microsoft can make money without further time and effort from the knowledge worker. Copyrights and patents are the IP rights that keep others from copying Microsoft's products.
3. Increase market valuation.
The value of a commodity business is typically the book value of its hard assets. The market value of an S&P 500 company is usually several times book value. The difference is largely the value of IP.
4. Create marketable assets.
Markets exist for the resale of IP rights. Ross Perot has invested in a $200 million IP fund based on patent assets. David Bowie raised $57 million selling bonds backed by the royalties in his recordings. These financial strategies let IP owners cash in on IP assets.
Corporations, entrepreneurs and business owners can benefit from the strategies by turning more of their business assets into valuable IP assets. Unfortunately, many ignore simple, inexpensive steps to secure these rights, leaving others - like Apple, Microsoft, and IBM - to charge ahead. What are you doing to secure your business success in the Internet age?
Author, speaker and attorney Mark V.B. Partridge is an internationally recognized expert in intellectual property with over 25 years of experience helping major corporations, entrepreneurs and creative individuals protect their IP rights. As a professional speaker, he offers seminars, workshops and keynotes to help business leaders use IP to turn intellectual capital into incredible value. His book, "Guiding Rights: Trademarks, Copyright and the Internet" is available at Amazon.com and other online bookstores. For more information, visit http://www.GuidingRights.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Partridge
Too often IP discussions focus only on legal rights: patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, domain names and right of publicity. These are important, of course. But the are the merely legal tools for protecting key business assets. The starting point for IP should be the underlying assets: information, innovation, content, brands, names, reputation, websites, and more.
Applying IP rights to these key assets can create value in four important ways.
1. Charge a premium for your goods and services.
Consider generic cola v. COKE. Why is one worth more? Because Coca-Cola has used IP to enhance the value of a simple commodity. It receives a premium because it has a secret formula and a distinctive well-known brand. Generic cola has a formula, too, but its not secret; it also has a name, but it is not distinctive. Anyone can make cola and use the cola name. IP keeps COKE from being copied. The formula is protected as a trade secret and the brand is protected as a trademark.
2. Earn additional revenue.
Consider the average software developer v. Microsoft. The software developer is a knowledge worker paid for her labor. If she doesn't work, she can't make any money. Without her work, her business has no value. Microsoft uses IP to turn the product of many knowledge workers into property that can be licensed and sold. Once that is done, Microsoft can make money without further time and effort from the knowledge worker. Copyrights and patents are the IP rights that keep others from copying Microsoft's products.
3. Increase market valuation.
The value of a commodity business is typically the book value of its hard assets. The market value of an S&P 500 company is usually several times book value. The difference is largely the value of IP.
4. Create marketable assets.
Markets exist for the resale of IP rights. Ross Perot has invested in a $200 million IP fund based on patent assets. David Bowie raised $57 million selling bonds backed by the royalties in his recordings. These financial strategies let IP owners cash in on IP assets.
Corporations, entrepreneurs and business owners can benefit from the strategies by turning more of their business assets into valuable IP assets. Unfortunately, many ignore simple, inexpensive steps to secure these rights, leaving others - like Apple, Microsoft, and IBM - to charge ahead. What are you doing to secure your business success in the Internet age?
Author, speaker and attorney Mark V.B. Partridge is an internationally recognized expert in intellectual property with over 25 years of experience helping major corporations, entrepreneurs and creative individuals protect their IP rights. As a professional speaker, he offers seminars, workshops and keynotes to help business leaders use IP to turn intellectual capital into incredible value. His book, "Guiding Rights: Trademarks, Copyright and the Internet" is available at Amazon.com and other online bookstores. For more information, visit http://www.GuidingRights.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Partridge
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