Having your own business can be exciting. You are now working for yourself. You are relying on what you know and doing it your way. But these days you need to be careful about inadvertently bringing on a lawsuit for some action you have done. For example, have you ever had a song stuck in your head? This can be a good thing or a bad thing. It can be bad especially if your business is writing lyrics or melodies for people and you accidentally use part of the melody when creating something you claim is original to you. When the original creator sues you for stealing their creation they will sue you using the Intellectual Property Law. Yes, they created it, they own it.
Lawsuits have become a way to try and make some money for certain people. They will try and file a lawsuit for things that have no basis. Sure, these lawsuits may get thrown out of court, but the business owner is going to be out some money; attorney fees and lost wages for example. Not to mention any negative media coverage.
Another area of lawsuits can come from employees. People can misconstrue comments into something provocative or discriminatory. You only told your secretary you liked that color sweater. She became insulted thinking you were sexually harassing her making her work in a hostile environment.
There is so much to think about when owning a business that keeping all the legalities straight may seem impossible. You may think that having a business attorney on retainer may cost you a lot of money and that money is something you could be using for other things. There is no better investment you can make in your business than protecting that business from liabilities.
If you are just starting up your business, sit down with a business attorney and review how your business will run. An attorney can review your business plan and look for any potential problems. You do not need to find out there is another business with the same name as yours. Or, you do not want to discover you haven’t made the entry way handicap accessible. All these are details you might not have considered as you put together your business, but a set of eyes that knows what to look for can save you time and money.
