Things You Should Know Before You Sign on the Dotted Line

One common mistake small business owners and business entrepreneurs make is to sign agreements (or any document) without first reading it carefully and without then, understanding what they read. With just one click of a mouse, you can sign away your valuable intellectual property rights and never even know you did it.

Another mistake often made is using contract templates without having a competent lawyer review them. It's easy to download a contract from the Internet or "cut and paste" an agreement together, without understanding the legal implications of your seemingly simple act. It's harder to clean up the mess after you've done it! Investing in a competent legal expert to review your agreement and explain what it means is well worth the money you pay. Making sure your contract protects you in the way you think it does is essential.

Another mistake is using old and out-dated agreements, year, after year, after year. Like software and computers, contracts become outdated and unenforceable. As the law changes, so does the need for a new, updated, and customized agreement. Consider a yearly IP check-up, just as you would your annual physical check-up.

Key Reasons to Have an Intellectual Property Attorney Review Your Contracts

Lawsuits are tedious and costly and can damage an small business beyond repair.  This is why it is worth the time to negotiate contracts through the proper procedures.  A competent intellectual property lawyer or business attorney can help you navigate through contracts to ensure that they are skillfully dratfted and executed.  As an online business owner, it is likely you will have multiple contracts and here are some key reasons why you should have an attorney review them before you sign on the dotted line.

• Negotiations:  Many online business owners tend to simply sign off on an agreement with another party such as a vendor, and they assume that there is no room for negotiations to sweeten the deal on their part. Sometimes it is possible to compromise which is why it is a good idea to do a contract review with your attorney.  Your attorney will translate the legal terms and find places where you can negotiate in your favor.
• Predicting the Future:  An ecommerce attorney can review the terms of the contract and identify what terms may cause you difficulty in the future.  By using an ecommerce attorney for contract review you can avoid a potentially litigious situation down the road and save legal costs in the process.  It will also buy you time to think about the terms with your attorney and discuss potential problems.
• The Fine Details:  Many contractual agreements end in discord because the terms of the contract are too ambiguous.  Having your attorney do a contract review will help you to place every detail in writing including specifications like time, dates, and the detailed responsibilities of each party in the agreement.
• Illegal Terms:  During a contract review, your ecommerce attorney can easily identify any terms of the contract that are in conflict with the law.  These are contractual terms which you may not be aware of until it is too late.

Contract Mistakes Your Business Attorney Can Help You Avoid

Preparing a contract that provides you with full protection for your online business is time consuming but well worth the effort to do it right from the beginning.  There are many details that must be spelled to ensure there are no objectionable litigations in the future.



Some of the mistakes can include not being aware of the different ecommerce laws, neglecting to define all of the deal terms right down to the last detail, making assumptions which should be in writing but they are left out, ignoring the boilerplate terms, and failing to negotiate every detail so both parties are well served.



These details require a lot of time and effort not to mention legal knowledge. This is why it is essential to use an ecommerce attorney for contract review on all of your online business agreements.

For information on how Business Attorney Francine Ward can help you with your contract needs, complete the form below, or call us at 415-389-0975. And while you're at it, enjoy a free MP3 download titled, "Do You Own What You Think You Own!" Thank you.







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