Three Steps to Protecting your Business
When you have a creative mind and you’re constantly coming up with ideas about new products or inventions, it’s only a matter of time until one of these translates into a business concept.
It’s exciting, you’re raring to get started investing your time and energy into your new brainchild. Of course, you’ve probably already anticipated that you’ll be doing taxes and might incur costs to set up a website or source your materials, but there may be legal costs that you may not have considered. Arranging all the legal necessities shouldn’t be stressful and should help protect you in the off chance that things go wrong.
1. Registering your Business
When you set up a business, you’ll have to decide whether to register it with your state or not. Registering can mean your business financially operates separately from yourself. This can cover you against business debts or lawsuits, which could otherwise be costly for your business. Registering can be expensive. In California you could be paying $800 in LLC tax per year, whereas in Tennessee it’s around $300. But, if you start saving to register with plenty of time, it shouldn’t put a dent in your finances.
2. Trademarking your Business Name
When you reach the branding stage of your business you’re likely to come up with something fresh and creative. You may want to take the step to protect this name and logo from being copied, plagiarized or frankly, stolen. Getting a trademark should allow your company to own the rights to your brand, which means that if a rival company closely resembles your logo or name you have the opportunity to use this trademark and shut them down. Trademarking your brand can be expensive and there are several steps to the process which you can get help from an attorney for. This typically costs between $200 and $1500 depending on how much help you need and the process can last up to 6 months or longer.
3. Copyrighting your Concepts
A Copyright differs from a Trademark since it protects an original piece of work compared to a brand name. For example, you may want to copyright a TV commercial that displays your product so that no other brands can use the video. The copyright itself is usually free but you may have to pay a government filing cost to record your copyright which is usually around $55 or more if you hire an attorney. Unfortunately, the timing of copyright registration highly varies and there is no easy tracking tool online to find out how far your application is within the process.
When you have a genuine business idea, registering, trademarking, and copyrighting can protect you and enable you to profit from the unique concepts that you create. The costs should be considered along with the other start-up and running expenses of setting up a creative business. Let’s determine how much you need to start your business and if these steps may be appropriate for you.