Personal Liability & Intellectual Property
Generally, the operation of a website or the selling of a new product or service can create a risk of liability exposure. It is well known that corporations and some other business organizations provide some protection from personal liability exposure. Who owns and who uses the associated intellectual property may create some unexpected or undesired results. Even those who set up a corporation or LLC to "protect themselves" may find that they have been operating their website or participating in ways to create a risk of personal liability.
Some areas worthly of close attention are:
- website domains
- website host and website developer relationships
- loans and contracts
- patent ownership, assignment, and/or licensing
- trademark ownership, assignment, and/or licensing
- copyright ownership, assignment, and/or licensing
- employer rights
- partners, friends
For our clients, we review their particular circumstances and provide advice on either obtaining some type of limited liability protection, assigning or licensing the associated intellectual property to the appropriate entity(ies), or identifying where their current practices do not take the benefit of their corporate or limited liability status.