Our services for Startups
Congratulations! You’ve got the courage to establish a business and pursue what you excel at.
We’d love to support you along the way. With our ONE approach, we’re here to educate you about the world of intangible assets, such as Trade Marks, copyright, patents and design.
These are valuable instruments that achieve two outcomes:
- They increase the value of your business as well as create a constant income stream.
- They also protect you against the competition by preventing others from exploiting your ideas and intangible assets.
We know that as an entrepreneur who’s in the early stages of funding your business, there’s a lot to consider already in the areas of funding, growth, and product development. Legal matters are probably at the bottom of the priority list when faced with so many areas that need your time and financial investment. However, not investing in growth and protection can mean many successful startups are forced to wind up their business. Put it simply, you wouldn’t build a new house and then refuse to install door locks, would you?
So, what exactly does a startup need to consider when it comes to legal coverage?
If you haven’t already done so, one of the first tasks you’ll need to complete is the registration of your business or company with the Australian Security and Investment Commission (ASIC). This allows you to legally run a business or company in Australia. After this, there are a variety of tax files that your business or company may need to register for. These may include: an Australian Business Number (ABN), the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a tax file number (TFN) and Pay as you go (PAYG) withholding.
Relations between the company and third parties
- – this will regulate your relationship with your customers.
- – this ensures your secret ideas remain a secret.
- – this provides the framework for services rendered out to your customers.
Relations between Business Partners
- – This will help you regulate your relationship with your business partners.
- – This will help you protect your relationship with your directors.
- – These are the internal rules of your company.
Protecting your Intellectual Property
Every single startup needs to own its Intellectual Property. You do not own your company or product name by registering it with ASIC – you only own it once it’s registered as trade mark in your company’s name.
You may own the copyright in your product design. However, as soon as you start mass production of the product, copyright ceases and the product design becomes public domain, unless you’ve already applied for a registered design. Over 80% of a business’s value comes from Intellectual Property, so it’s imperative you do everything you can to protect your intangible assets.
You need to ensure that the IP that protects you and adds value to the business is secured in line with your business strategy. ONE IP INTERNATIONAL can assist you in creating the tailored IP strategy for your business or company, tailored specifically to your business plan. If you are considering registering a domain name for your website, then it’s of the utmost priority to ensure that you own the monopoly rights for the name before you register the domain. Without a registered trade mark, you could either infringe upon a registered mark or a third party may stop you on your successful journey by preventing you from using your name, slogan or logo.
- : This will communicate to the world that you own your product name, logo or anything brand related.
- : This will protect the unique shape and overall appearance of your product.
- : This will protect your inventions.
- : When talking to anyone about your business, you need a completed NDA to ensure everything remains a secret.
- : If anyone in your business, or someone you hire, develops Intellectual Property, then you must ensure you have this document executed in order to assign ownership to you.
Startups can face many legal challenges due to overlooking these important legal aspects. Legal protection is crucial for businesses of any scale, but achieving this is not as easy as generating generic drafts of legal documents and hoping or assuming it’s the best fit for your needs.
A cost-efficient, technology-oriented service coupled with face-to-face consultations with lawyers is the best way to give business owners true peace of mind.
