Anatomy of an Internet business venture
There are several considerations to address in forming or running an internet business venture. Many of these considerations raise legal issues or require legal action or opinion. Here is a highlight outline of some of considerations.
- are there any partners or revenue sharing?
- is there any sharing in exchange for sweat equity?
- form of business -- corporation, LLC, LP?
- who owns ...
- the domain name?
- the website content?
- the website computer code?
- the databases?
- the graphics or text?
- the business model, the business plan, or the concept?
- what contracts or arrangements have been made ...
- with service providers?
- with the ISP?
- with web developers?
- with helpdesk or customer support?
- Do any of these contractors own or could claim a piece of your business? ... your concept? ... your website?
- the website itself ...
- do you have a Terms of Service?
- do you have an MCPA policy set up?
- do you have a Privacy Statement?
- are there statements in your content that "could get you into trouble"?
- do you own and have you copyrighted your text and graphics?
- trademarks
- on the domain name?
- on the service?
- on any products or services sold through the website?
- alternate domain names ...
- .net, ,org, etc?
- similar names?
- cybersquatting?
- patents?
- business process or method for this internet business?