Startup Law - Any questions?

[Amit Singh]

Hi guys,

I am doing some research on Legal needs of startup entrepreneurs. 

If successful this would lead to a series of workshops around India, starting with Bangalore. 

Can you please share any legal questions that you have always wanted to ask someone? 

Perhaps something you are curious about or stumped with? Something naive? Something confusing? 

I just want to make a fat list of questions before preparing the curriculum of the course. 

Here are some example questions for starters:-

1. I have a brand "XYZ" with a website but haven't registered my company? I give invoices for services in the name of my brand "XYZ"? Is this legal?

2. What are common exit clauses that exist? 

3. How do I capture equity vesting in my partnership deed? What are good suggestions for vesting cycles?

4. There are many sample templates for "Hiring", "MoU", "NDA" etc? What do I need to take care of while editing one? What do I need to check before signing one?

5. My client hasn't paid me. How expensive is it to take him to court and what are the chances of getting paid? :) 

6. How to trademark my brand / expression?

7. How to apply for a patent? How much does it officially take to file one, how long is the wait?

8. How much is the official amount needed to register a partnership firm? 

9. What clauses to watch out for in a Term Sheet?

10. What to do if I am served a legal notice?

..

I'll compile the questions and share it every week. 
I know that doesn't help. But finding answers to all of these will take a couple of months of part time effort.
I'll work on them slowly and update the corresponding person as that answer becomes available. 

Please do participate :)

Thanks much!

Amit

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[Vicky Shah]

@ Amit, Great Initiative.

I am also starting something similar and my portal will be ready very soon. It will be a basic FAQ on everything to do with legal and compliance both with laws and cyber laws.

We can jointly work in this space if you are interested.

Securing and Protecting You, "Human Behaviour is the Biggest Risk in Security" - Vicky Shah M: +91-98201-05011 | Author of first of its kind book "Are You Protected?" - The Handbook on Awareness and Prevention of Cyber Crimes Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vicky-Shah/131375286937952 LinkedIn: http://in.linkedin.com/in/shahvicky Twitter: http://twitter.com/shahvicky SMS Channel: http://labs.google.co.in/smschannels/subscribe/TheEagleEye Disclaimer: The information contained herein (including any accompanying documents) is intended solely for the addressee(s). If you have erroneously received this message, please immediately delete it and notify the sender. Also, if you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying or distribution of this message or any accompanying document is strictly prohibited and is unlawful. This email does not tantamount to spamming. You are advised to contact Vicky Shah for clarifying any questions that you may have with regards to any information contained in this communication. Vicky Shah is not responsible for any damage caused by a virus or alteration of the e-mail by a third party or otherwise. Views expressed are personal.

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http://www.headstart.in
 
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/headstart-network

[hitesh mantrala]

Probably we can just host hackernews somewhere and post the Q&A like a forum..

I hosted HN on this url http://pr0blem.com/ which you can use Amit.

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Regards,

Hitesh Mantrala

Co-Founder, askCake

Incubated at Tlabs 

[Vivek Dwivedi]

Hi,
I wanted some information about licenses. I am not sure if I can use an open source library provided under Apache 2.0 license for my product. The product is free but the services for that product is what I want to charge for. Can you let me know if that is legal or not.

Thanks,
Vivek

On Tue, Jul 17, 2012 at 9:54 PM, Vicky Shah <vi...@cybercrimes.in> wrote:

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Vivek Dwivedi,
B Tech (ICT), DA-IICT
http://vvdwivedi.com

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

[Ramanuj Mukherjee]

Dear Vivek, 

Copyright extends only to a particular expression - in this case the library/ codes. You are entitled to create a product to be distributed for free under apache 2.0 license provided you comply with the terms of the agreement, there is no restriction on that. It is an established business model around open source space to distribute a software for free, and then to charge clients consultancy fee for customization, integration, troubleshooting etc. and Apache 2.0 doesnt prevent you from doing this.

All the best!

Ramanuj Mukherjee

Founder of iPleaders.in and Intelligent Legal Risk Management Solutions LLP
CLAThacker
BarHacker
A First Taste of Law

Mobile: +91-9804123454

    

[Amit Singh]

Dear All,
Here is the summary of Week 1.
I have not shared any questions that were too specific to be of use to the public at large. I'll repeat this activity for the next 7 weeks, and hopefully we'll also have answers to many of these questions by then. For now, please keep posting, I assure you that I'll do my best to get your queries addressed by folks who are well qualified in the matter.

Cheers,
Amit

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Summary of questions asked so far:-

Clauses

1. What should be the clauses in Shareholders agreement for pvt limited company?
2. I and my partner have troubled relations and I may decide to walk out? What should be the clauses to protect the interest of both the parties?

International:

1. I am planning to start a company where a non-Indian citizen also want to become a shareholder and director. What do I need to take care of in order to not violate any legal aspects?
2. Is there any ‘legal audit’ for companies that I need to carry out periodically?

Capital:

1. What are the various ways of bringing capital in (paid up share capital, shares bought by the promoters at a premium, loan by the promoters to the company) and the tax implications of the same. Are their any restrictions / tax implications of sweat equity issuance. The reason I ask is - there are big tax implications based on how much is the authorized share capital of a company. So one of the options people seem to be considering / suggesting is to bring money as an interest-free loan from the promoters to the company. But we don't know if there are any pitfalls with that approach.

Cost:

1. What is the "typical" cost of getting a startup started - the tax, the auditor / lawyer fees etc.

Technical:

1. I am not sure if I can use an open source library provided under Apache 2.0 license for my product. The product is free but the services for that product is what I want to charge for. Can you let me know if that is legal or not.