We are all aware of the significant impact coronavirus has had on our community over the last 12 months. However, one of the positive impacts that the Covid 19 pandemic has had, is the impact on e-commerce or online businesses. Whether it be existing businesses that have been forced to pivot and provide their products and services by way of an online platform – or people taking advantage of having a little extra time on their hands and getting their start up business off the ground.
Your business’ legal needs will depend on your particular business and business model. In our experience, in addition to having an appropriate corporate structure, most online businesses will need to consider three things at the very beginning:
- Your branding and intellectual property – including taking steps to protect that branding,
- A set of terms and conditions governing how your business interacts with its customers; and
- A set of contracts that govern how your business interacts with its suppliers, contractors and other parties.
The very first step you should take is to protect your branding. You will need to check that there aren’t any business that already exist that have the same or similar name to yours.
You will need to register your business name with the Australian Securities & Investment Commission and register your domain name for your website. If your business has a logo or particular branding symbol, you should also register that logo as a Trade Mark for your product or services in order to stop other parties copying or leveraging your business’ reputation.
In addition, if you are using any third party intellectual property, you should ensure you have the legal rights to do so, whether that be by way of licence or some other arrangement.
We can assist you with your next online business venture.