Archive for the ‘Rules’ Category
Get a Business License
November 6th, 2009 | 
Author: Why do you need a business license? The answer is simple. If your company is going to operate within the law, the city or county in which you will be doing business will require you to obtain a license or permit.
If that business is service-related and performs any portion of its work in other cities outside of its operational center, you may also be required to buy licenses in those cities. For example, if you have a repair service and you make several calls to homes away from the city where your shop is located, you could be obligated to purchase business licenses in the cities you service. For occasional work in another city, you may only be required to obtain a permit for those days on which you perform the work.
Business licenses are serious matters in most cities. They provide a source of revenue for the city or county. Licensing is also a means of controlling the types of businesses that operate within their jurisdictions. It is true that many businesses are currently operating without licenses. A crackdown in one major city showed that almost 50% of its businesses had failed to produce current business licenses Fines were imposed and ultimatums issued that failure to secure licenses would result in shutdowns. A business licenses is inexpensive and lends credibility to your operation. Without one, you, too, run the risk of being discovered and fined and/or barred from doing any business at all.
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Is it Right for You?
One of the fastest growing markets in the United States is the home-based business. It’s interesting to note that one in four businesses located in an office or industrial area started in the home, including such well-known companies as Mary Kay, Hershey, Hewlett Packard, Lillian Vernon, Ford, and Apple. It has been estimated that more than 32 million Americans are self-employed and working at home. This does not count those who were doing so on a part-time basis while holding a “regular” job. Part-time self-employed home workers numbered an additional 1,000,000+.
Home-based businesses span a wide range of occupations and industries. One multi-state study conducted by a team of university-based researchers found that the top five occupations were marketing/sales (24%), contracting (15%), mechanical/transportation (13%), services (12%), and professional/technical (12%). Other studies yield varying results, but they all indicate that home businesses represent a wide range of occupations and industries.
The trend toward home-based business has occurred for several reasons. The advent of the electronic age with its computers, fax machines, copiers and other office technology has made it possible for almost every family to start a business from home. Job insecurities and layoffs have forced white-collar workers to pile out of corporations. Many of these displaced middlemanagement people have taken their skills home and translated them into viable businesses run from their home offices. The trend toward home-based business has also been impacted by economic considerations such as eliminating rent and utilizing other home-office deductions. As an additional bonus, having a home-based business has allowed parents to stay home with their families and addressed elder care and parental leave without added costs.
Home-based businesses can be very successful. They can also turn into disasters or, at the very least, unproductive semi-attempts at dabbling at business. In order to help you get off to a good start, we have devoted this chapter to some of the most important considerations that will contribute to the success of your home-based business.
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Posted in Admin Notes, Company, Finances, Rules, Service | 
Tags: Is it Right for You? | 
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Notice of Copyright
The required use of a copyright notice (1976 Copyright Act) was eliminated when the United States adhered to the Berne Convention, effective March 1, 1989. Because prior law did contain such a requirement, however, the use of notice is still relevant to the copyright status of older works.
Use of the notice may be important because it informs the public that the work is protected by copyright, identifies the copyright owner, and shows the year of first publication. The use of the copyright notice is the responsibility of the copyright owner and does not require advance permission from, or registration with, the Copyright Office.
Form of Notice for Visually Perceptible Copies: The notice for visually perceptible copies should contain all the following three elements:
- The symbol © (the letter C in a circle), or the word “Copyright,” or the abbreviation “Copr.”; and
- The year of first publication of the work.
- The name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner.
Example: © 2006 John Doe
The “C in a circle” notice is used only on “visually perceptible copies.” Certain kinds of works for example, musical, dramatic, and literary works—may be fixed not in “copies” but by means of sound in an audio recording. Since audio recordings such as audio tapes and phonograph disks are “phonorecords” and not “copies,” the “C in a circle” notice is not used to indicate protection of the underlying musical, dramatic, or literary work that is recorded.
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What Can and Cannot Be Copyrighted?
Persons or organizations creating “original works of authorship” including literary, dramatic, musical, architectural, cartographic, choreographic, pantomimic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, and audiovisual displays usually register copyrights. Authors, artists, song writers and creators of computer programs typically register copyrights. Businesses often copyright their logos and other artwork that is representative of their companies
The word “copyright” literally means the right to copy. According to the U.S. Copyright Office, “The owner of copyright has the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, and, in the case of certain works, publicly perform or display the work; to prepare derivative works; or to license others to engage in the same acts under specific terms and conditions.” For example, the author of a book will typically sell all or part of his or her copyrights to a publisher who actually prints and markets the book to the public.
The U.S. Copyright Office defines the following broad categories of works for which copyrights can be registered:
• literary works
• musical works, including any accompanying words
• dramatic works, including any accompanying music
• pantomimes and choreographic work
• pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
• motion pictures and other audiovisual works
• sound recordings
• architectural works
Computer program copyrights are typically registered as “literary works.” Architectural plans and maps are registered as “pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works.” Things that cannot be copyrighted include any inventions, ideas, procedures, processes, slogans, principles, or discoveries.
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Posted in Admin Notes, Business, Company, Rules, Trademark |
Tags: What Can and Cannot Be Copyrighted? |
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What is a Copyright?
Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works.
Copyright protection is available to both published and unpublished works. Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:
- To reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords;
- To prepare derivative works based upon the work;
- To distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
- To perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
- To display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work; and
- In the case of sound recordings, to perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.
