Ecommerce businesses have become increasingly popular worldwide as we live in this digital era. You have already evaluated your business idea, done the research, plan for product sourcing, and you are ready to move forward. However, if it’s your first time to run an online business, it is highly recommended that you research the restrictions and legal matters. It has never been easy to start a business, whether online or having a physical store. Most of the time, online entrepreneurs tend to believe that profits are everything therefore, they concentrate more on their marketing strategies. These priorities can lead to legal issues down the road.
To have a clear understanding of how online business works, hiring an experienced lawyer is an excellent move. In this article, let’s discuss some key points why you need an attorney for your online business.
Protect Your Brand
If you are selling products that you developed, it’s always a good idea to register a trademark to gain proprietary rights to the name. According to experts from revisionlegal.com/services/internet-lawyer/, whether a startup or small business, protecting the brand is essential for your success. Before registering your trademark, you have to obtain a clearance search to ensure that no discrepancies and trademark infringement are prevented. If this occurs, your entire company will be at risk, including your marketing strategy. An experienced lawyer can help you with the registration process, from submitting the initial application, and ensuring that you draft it effectively and accurately. After you have successfully registered your trademark, it’s your legal team’s job to monitor infringement by the third party, and ensure that you comply with laws and regulations.
Data Privacy Concerns
Collecting personal information of customers usually happens for having an online business. Most jurisdictions around the world have regulations implemented that require the company to inform people before obtaining their details. Data privacy has become a huge concern and governments have mandated this law to protect consumers. It’s required to disclose how the information may be shared, the process on how to change their information you have, the details of your online marketing techniques, and your policy’s effective date. To comply with this regulation, you have to set up a Privacy Policy on your website and require your consumers and users to agree if you need to collect personal information.
Business License
Getting a business license for a physical location has no difference in online business. Your permit varies on the type of business you have, state and local laws. The majority of the businesses only need a general business license, but there are business activities that require special licenses and permits. Note that your license needs to be renewed yearly. Seeking assistance from a licensed professional would be a great advantage for your business, knowing that your company is compliant with every law and regulation.
Business Structure
As a start of your online business, most likely you are the sole proprietor of your company. It only means that you are responsible for taking care if anything happens. In the future, you may want to consider partnerships, corporations, or other business organizations to help you protect the business assets.
Avoid Defamation
The word defamation refers to any statement that hurts someone’s reputation. It is libel if the statement has been published, and slander if it is spoken. When you sell a product, sometimes there’s a tendency to tell your customers that it’s way better than other competitors. Even if it’s unintentional to attack others’ reputation but your competitor losses business as a result, you may face a defamation lawsuit. To ensure you’ll avoid this problem, guidance from your attorney is recommended.
Check the Copyright of Everything
It’s vital to check every content of your business website if you are legally allowed to use it. It’s common for an e-commerce website to have a load of pictures when selling products. With all the images available online, it seems fair to use those photos for your business. However, in legality, it could harm your company. It’s always a good idea to obtain the right license, or create your content. Hiring a lawyer can also protect your rights to content, media, and other works you created and prevent copyright infringement online or offline.
In several ways, online businesses have huge advantages compared to other entrepreneurship. Provided that you have an internet connection, there’s always a way to monitor your company. However, it doesn’t mean that you can skip the legal work. Hiring a lawyer for your business is a way of making sure that you are compliant with all of the legislation. Your attorney can protect your business interests and defend against challenges that may arise.