Monday, April 3, 2006

What are the legalities involving taxes and copyright/trademark/patents for an online business? -

I recently decided to start my own online business once I had an idea for a website that could fill a huge untouched niche. I can t talk much about what it is about yet, because I want to patent/trademark/copyright whatever I need to beforehand. I have two areas I need advise on:1- My main source of revenue in the beginning would be website subscriptions. I need some advise on how tax works in this situation. I want to set it up as a business, so that I can expand it more later, but physically there wouldn t be an office anywhere (at least at first), and I ve heard that it is possible to get a lawyer or someone to help establish an online business in a state other than where I live in order to pay less for taxes. Is this legal, and how does it work? Is it advisable to do it if I really do want to have a physical office somewhere later on?My other question is about legalities. Does anyone know if it is possible to patent a website configuration, rather than the software that uses it? I will be purchasing the software I need to run the website, but I want to make sure no one else can come in and copy me. Also, how does Trademark work for websites? Would I need to trademark my website name and company name separately, even if they are very similar? Lastly, How does copyright work on things published via website?Thanks in advance for anyone who might be able to answer questions or direct me to find some answers.

I can answer this question for you: Also, how does Trademark work for websites? Would I need to trademark my website name and company name separately, even if they are very similar? To protect a business name within your industry, you would apply for a trademark.Trademarks can be names of products or services, logos, slogans, packaging and even sounds and smells. In essence, a trademark can be almost anything that is used to identify a particular product or service. Registering a trademark grants the owner exclusive rights to the mark within the specified industry. It s necessary to have comprehensive research on the mark done prior to filing to ensure that there is no possibility of infringing upon another party. This entails searches of the pending registered Federal and State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files. Then, if clear, you can decide if you would like to file for a Federal or a State trademark. To register a trademark, that s done either through your Secretary of State for a State trademark or the US Patent Trademark Office for a Federal trademark. If you are only conducting business in one state, then a State trademark is most appropriate. If you conduct (OR are planning to conduct) business in at least 2 states OR between the US any other country, you can file for a Federal trademark.If the only difference between your web site name company name is the .COM, then have just one name filed -- however you display it. For instance, Amazon.com uses their mark with the .COM so they have Federal trademarks on the entire name. It doesn t mean another party can file Amazon for retail sales of books as that s still too similar to Amazon.comHope that helps! I wish you much success happiness in all your ventures!

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