A non-disclosure agreement, or NDA, is an agreement that is meant to protect a party (or both parties) from losing control over all or parts of their valuable intellectual property. The NDA prevents one party from disclosing certain information belonging to the other party without permission. By preventing disclosure without permission, a party can maintain the value inherent in keeping certain intellectual property a secret from the outside world while still sharing that intellectual property with those who might help them build on it (or who might purchase the right to use it). But a non-disclosure agreement not thoughtfully considered can become a license for the other party to destroy or significantly diminish the value of your intellectual property. Here...
News Roundup: Noncompete Clauses; IKEA Bootcamp; Crowdfunded Litigation
The Business Purchase Letter of Intent
Today’s post discusses an important early step when you are purchasing a business: drafting and negotiating a business purchase letter of intent. The process of drafting and negotiating a business purchase letter of intent generally follows the initial negotiation of the major business purchase terms. Those material terms—price, payment method, closing timing, and basic conditions to the sale—are generally negotiated directly between the parties on smaller business purchase and sale transactions. On larger transactions, the parties and their brokers and investment bankers negotiate those terms.
After you agree on what each party is going to do as part of the business purchase, one party (often the buyer) will distill those main business terms into a written document that is the business purchase letter of intent....
News Roundup: Blockchain Startups, Bitcoin, and Cryptocurrencies
News roundup: an Airbnb for warehouses; Jeff Bezos’s annual shareholder letter; platform for startups
Many Startups Are (Unintentionally) Breaking These Wage Laws
Since most startups don’t have a large reserve of cash during their early days, it is common for startups to compensate founders and early employees solely with equity. While this allows startups to conserve what little cash they have, this practice could ultimately be very costly for the company if it runs afoul of wage laws. In today’s post, we discuss various ways that startups may expose themselves (and in some cases their founders, directors, and officers) to liability for violating wage laws, and some steps companies can take to limit that liability.
While the attorneys in our firm do not practice employment law specifically, we come across these issues frequently when working with startups and think it is something founders...
News Roundup: Patent Loopholes; Personal Flyers; Data Startups
News Roundup: FCC Plans for ISPs, The Startup Economy, Spotify’s Latest Acquisiton
Qualified Small Business Stock—what is it, and why should you care?
