10 Legal Questions

10 legal questions

Lawyer:     David M. Brown, Esq.

                     Moran Law Firm LLC

Civil Litigation

Business Litigation
Insurance Defense
Premises Liability

Recipient: Marc Guerrero

1: How would I go about creating and securing my company name?

You would have to figure out the kind of business I wanted if I wanted to have a LLC, a partnership, or incorporate, it depends on what legal protections you wanted.  Most people go with LLC, which is a Limited Liability Company

2. How would I get a LLC?

You would have to find a name that is available in this state. Then file the formal paperwork and pay the state-filling fee, create an operating agreement for your company, and then obtain permits and licensing that your company would need

3. How long would I have the rights to that company name?

In Nevada one would pay a yearly fee to be a company a licensed business. If you don’t you could be looking at thousands of dollars in accumulative fees and penalties and you should look to dissolve your company

4. How would I go about paying or getting the rights to use someone else’s song?

You would find and contact the person who owns the song or the company who owns the licensing. And get the licensee from them to use any of the original material

5. How would I protect my intellectual property?

Easy, once you have or created your intellectual property like a song, book or  image, copyright it immediately. Have all the right copyright forms from the Copyright offices and the Library of Congress and may pay some fees then you sill solely own the rights to that material

6. Are there different types of music royalties?

Yes, I know there are a few. The ones I know is the Mechanical royalty, which is, based on for use of CD’s, DVD’s, tapes for any public distribution. The live performance royalty, which would allow an artist or company to use it in a live setting.  Print royalty, which is used for books and downloads. Foreign royalties. Which is obviously any usage outside the US. I know there are a few more but those are the basic ones. Some are getting a lot trickier with the advancement of technology.

7. How are Royalties calculated?

Royalties are very complex and circumstantial. It depends on the licensing deal and agreement. It depends if you are the soul owner. Most music and songs have many songwriters, producers, performers, and distributors. So it depends on how many songs were sold and played. So every time that song is played or used. You and the people involved with ownership to the rights would get a small percentage. Its usually just pennies per use but if it used or sold a lot it would equal up to millions and millions of dollars. That is why there are so many cases of artists and companies suing for not paying the right amount of royalties or using the song illegally.

8. If working or hired by an outside company what would I legally  want to make sure happened?

Say if a company like MGM hired you. They would have a contract drawn up for you. Make sure the contract is what would you and them agreed upon. I would honestly say, Come See ME! Just because there are many different kinds of contracts. Some for long lasting projects, single events and so forth. So you would want to make sure everything was legit before signing anything. So I would maybe take it to someone like me or your lawyer to look over everything!

9. How would I hire new employees for my new small business to make sure everything was legal?

A few steps one would have to do. Have to get an Employee identification number or the employee tax ID. You would have to get the correct identification and proper work cards. Have the licensing to work certain equipment or operate certain machinery. Make sure you have the right employee paperwork, this must include  W-4 or 10-99 tax forms so the all the  taxes are reported correctly. Draw up a contract for compensation and all other work related details. Set up the right payroll system for your company.

10. What are the most common mistakes people do while opening up a new small business?

I would say one of the biggest mistakes people make is not doing all the legal paperwork and filling for a new business and trying to cut corners because one thinks your saving money. In the end it will come back to haunt you and you will end up paying more in fees and other penalties and your company will go bankrupt. Hire a lawyer to look at all your legal documents and paperwork and have the right financial team so you know your budget. When people try to save money that’s when the illegal activities tend to happen and they end up getting sued or bankrupt.