What kind of business licensing do I need to launch my creative content studio?
By Nina Kaufman, Esq.Q.: I have a great deal of creative content that is produced in-house, all copywritten materials owned by my company. I am not only better suited to creating the content, I also prefer to spend more of my time with the creation and marketing of that considerable content than in “protecting” or chasing down the legal forms I should have filed early on.
What are the simplest steps I must take to launch the legal/IP protections/business filings for my tiny film/music/publishing studio? Form an S Corp or LLC? Trademark my domain name? Will my book—which has become the “vision statement” for my business—help to “protect” my overall IP content?
A.: So wise to recognize that your energies are better spent creating your content than handling the business licensing and details of protecting it. Leave the “protecting” to the professional (attorneys). You don’t need to form an S Corporation or LLC to file for copyright protection—you can do that under your own name.
However, without knowing what you’ve created and how you intend to use it, it’s hard to say what your first steps should be. A website alone won’t protect your IP, nor will the book necessarily protect anything that’s not contained in it. Your best step would be to consult with a local IP attorney. That way, you can develop a sound strategy, time frame, and budget for business licensing and protecting your creative work the right way.
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