Music copyright has been prominent in the legal news lately, and it's important for music label startups and musicians to sift through all of the scandalous details to get to the heart of legal pillars that impact entertainment and business: copyright law, trademark, law, freedom of speech, the utility of expert testimony.

You need to imagine the worst when forming a partnership.  Imagine the exit strategy.

The closing process, for better or worse, worse really, is arduous and quite mundane and in New York it takes too long in comparison to most states. Now, with mortgages being tougher to get, it takes even longer than it used to and that can present issues for buyers contractually, and for sellers, because, most sellers don’t want to wait long to get paid. Some adequate information that a buyer can learn beforehand can really expedite the process and can make for a much easier closing.

When you start your fantasy sports site, first ask which type of entity do you want to be. That, like the first pick in your Draft, depends on many factors. How many members does the company consist of? Its financial structure?  Its more than just launching your site, and making picks.

When drawing up contracts or any documents related to a startup, a focus on plain English saves on litigation later. Everyone needs to be on the same page.  If a literate eighth grader can't understand a sentence, you can anticipate battling over that sentence years from now.

When it comes down to choosing a business entity in NY, you have to ask yourself how much money are you willing to spend in the beginning, and how flexible do you anticipate your business to be?

I’m often asked “what does the closing date” mean? Its simple really, its merely a target date, one to base on things around, from the buyers mortgage being ready (if contingent) and all other issues relating to getting a file ready.

When starting up a company for the first time, there are a number of contractual considerations.  Independent film companies are often LLCs because of their flexibility.