Legal requirements for online business: are there standards?
Or, am I missing something and all this information is currently available here? I typed "legal forms, legal contracts, legal templates, Website legalities and legal guidelines here but my searches came back empty.
A few questions that I have personally witnessed being asked in chat, some daily or several times a day:
**These are completely from memory so don't hold me to the answers or questions as being verbatim, my memory is not what it used to be. Also, if you have another answer, or see an incorrect answer, please let me know so I can change it....
Q: What kind of legal coverage do I need if I'm offering SEO consulting? I want myself covered in case someone wants to come after me with "my rankings fell" OR "I'm not getting the results I want".
A: This should be covered in your contract with the client AND
A: There is insurance coverage you can get.
Q: Can I use an image on my website from Google?
A: No, they are copyright and licensing issues that could get your website slapped if you get caught.
Q: My content got stolen, is there anything I can do?
A: Congrats your stuff is good enough to steal...
A: Send them a letter asking them to take your stuff down.
Q: Can I copy content from my website and put it in an article on an article directory?
A: No this is duplicate content and it could seriously hurt your website's integrity.
There are others but I won't put them down because I don't remember the answers or exact wording, so here are a few topics I think could be covered:
Online Business Copyright
What disclaimers should be on your website
What kind of insurance coverage should we be looking for
Online business legal forms
Legal Requirements for online business
Website Patents
Legal Forms, Contracts and Templates
Ethical practices to adopt when doing business online
How to register your business online
I'm slightly paranoid and perhaps I'm making a big deal of nothing since our original written content is automatically copyrighted by intellectual property rights. But, what about symbols, colors, words or images that distinguish your business from others as in a logo or brand name? Who, What, When and Where do we look into Website patents? Trademarks? Copyrights? I understand these are all specific to the niche or website but there should be some "standards", right?
So, if you have any advice in any of these categories could you please "shed some light" on the masses of us who have no idea...
Thanks.
Patty
Recent Comments
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Hello findingemo... I really enjoyed this blog post. It really opens the eyes to the legal side of the business. I'll be applying whatever is necessary to build a wall of protection from those that might want to take me to the cleaners. You've given me a lot to consider. Thanks.
Here are some free templates: https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/getting-started/free-legal-templates-for-websites#
You can find some information here and download a free legal handbook, maybe your find it useful: shoemoney dot com slash affiliate-legal-issues.
(cannot post a link).
Thanks for the timely blog and all the responses. My CPA told me just yesterday that as an online Internet marketer I need to purchase a city business license. Many cities in California are searching for unlicensed businesses and adding interest on unpaid fees.
Bill
So it might be a good idea for everyone to check with their state/city locally. Thanks for adding your comment. This information is very helpful.
Hi Bill:
That's a GREAT heads up Re: city officials looking for unregistered businesses.
On a similar note, do you or anyone here know how to look for newly registered businesses in a city? They might be good candidates to offer your online marketing services.
Charlie
PS Sorry to invade your post Patty:( That "heads up" by Bill got me thinking.
No problem at all, it's a great question and it just solidifies Carson's "wish list" item of being able to search comments for answers. I learn as much from comments and live chat as the training sometimes. :)
No problem.....I don't think it hurts to know everything even if you don't personally need it, someone else might. :)
One thing I've been thinking about are Earning Disclaimers. If bootcamp is basically creating a site to promote WA, a site about making money essentially, then surely we must have an earning disclaimer on the site too?
Hi Casanova.
Thanks for adding that to the list of "do I need it or not?" I've never even heard of one so I'll be curious to see what kind of answers you get.
Thanks for reading and commenting. :)
Online business copyright: Put a copyright notice on each page, with the year. Try to keep the year current. That will put people on notice that they are not to copy things from any of your pages without your express permission "in writing".
Disclaimers: make a disclaimer page. Check other similar websites to get the exact verbiage. It's probably been written by a lawyer, and they all pretty much read the same. I don't think anyone would worry if you borrowed basic elements from their disclaimer.
Insurance: I would get a good liability policy. Talk to an insurance agent who deals with business insurance.
Online business legal forms: Legal Zoom should have that.
Legal requirements for online business: I think that depends on what your business is. If you have an online presence for an offline business, then your offline business needs to be licensed in your state. If you are an online business, you might want to form an LLC. I wouldn't do it right away, because it'll cost a little, not much though. I would wait to see how you do. You're going to have to pay taxes on your income. Companies will send you a W-9. I file a 1099. You have to ask your accountant about that.
Website Patents: Why would you need a patent? You may want to trademark your name. I would consult a trademark attorney. Some people trademark their own names, but you can't do the kind of search a lawyer would do. You want to make sure that's done right so that your name will be protected.
Legal forms, contracts and templates: I'm sure you can find those online. Legal Zoom maybe. Just put it in Google and lots of legal stuff will come up. Some free, some not.
Ethical practices to adopt online: I would think it depends on the business. Would be the same as doing business offline. Just deliver on your promise. Be sure to make a "Terms of Use" page, which should include copyright and limitations on use, conduct guidelines, no warranty, monitoring (if you have a discussion board), use by commercial entities, infringement, license, trademark, disclaimer, limitation on liability. You can get that from any website. Just adapt it to yourself. If you are doing SEO for offline companies who want to be online, just don't guarantee any results because they'll hold you to it. No one has a crystal ball. Just outline what you will do for them for the fee you are charging. Print out your terms for them. Be very clear. Don't promise anything you can't deliver. Follow through on what you promise.
how to register your business online. Not sure I understand the question. Do you mean with the search engines?
Hope that helps a little.
Thanks for this "complete" comment, "jatdebeaune"! Lot of helpful advice.
To "Nemo" :)
Personally, I started an LLC under advice from a volunteer lawyer from the Small Business Administration (SBA) (or some similar free (state) government service).
Type in "[your state] SBA" in Google and find an SBA listing. It should have a phone number that offers free business consultation. Ask if they provide a free lawyer service. Usually, there are volunteers that come in once in a while.
Write down all your questions and bring it in to them.
You might as well use this SBA service since you're paying for it.
Charlie
Hi Joan,
Thanks so much for taking the time to put such an extensive answer.
I'm not saying I would personally need a website patent but who does? An inventor who needs to protect their idea? Is that the only person who needs to consider it?
What about artists, artisans and photographers who have original art on their sites? What kind of legal protection do they need?
So you don't need to register your business online like you would need to register your business offline?
Just a few more questions, if you can answer them thank you, if not I appreciate all the effort you have already put in to answers.
Thanks again for reading and commenting. :)
Hi Charlie,
I will have to find a local service and pay them a visit. Good idea and great advice.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. :)
If you want to brand your name (title of your website) or product, if the name is unique, you can trademark the name. I think it's a good idea if you have a catchy name, and you don't want anyone else using it. Before seeing the lawyer, search online to make sure no one else has that name. Purchase your domain first, then see a patent/trademark attorney.
If you have an invention, then you have to protect the invention with a patent if it meets the qualifications. Then it will be legally protected if you put it in your website. You have to notify people that it is patented, or patent pending.
As far as artists are concerned, you can put a copyright notice on each page, and encrypt the image to make it hard for someone to take it. I don't know if there is a foolproof way to protect an image online. If you see it pop up on another site, you can contact that site, and tell them they are infringing. You can also contact Google, but I'd approach the other site first.
You need to index your site with Google so that it'll come up on Google. I don't know anything about registering a website or blog. Submit your site to Google Webmaster Tools. This link will tell you how to do it: http://blog.kissmetrics.com/get-google-to-index/
No problem Patty. Just don't get too paranoid about all this legal stuff. First thing is you have to get the client or make the affiliate sales. Then, make thousands a month. Otherwise, you'll spend all your money and time on the legal stuff and no money/income to protect.
Just some of my thoughts.
Charlie
I was wondering the same things myself. I have sometimes noticed on the bottom of other sites that it says for example "copyright 2012". Is this necessary for all sites or is it just for those selling their own product?
Hi Sherry,
Seems like putting the copyright with year on the bottom of your page will help to visually "warn" people to not steal your content. Seems like a good idea just to add some more security to your content.
Maybe like a burglar alarm? Won't prevent things from being stolen but might deter the burglar? LOL
Thanks for reading my blog and commenting. :)
Yes, I was hoping for a good variety of answers from different points of view but seems maybe it's not needed. Joan seems to have covered all the bases with her answer.
Thanks for reading and commenting. :)
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I don't know if there's a more current discussion on this topic?
I have a limited company based in the UK, and when I try to sign up to join affiliate networks I'm put off because I don't know which category I fit into.
I am researching this as I write this, so will pop back if I find any answers. My guess is that I fall into the LLC bracket but I don't want to sign up unless I know, and my accountant is on holiday at the moment so can't ask her.
If there's any UK members here who know the answer I'd really appreciate the help. Thanks