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Don't let business laws leave you confused. eHow's legal experts clarify everything from buying and selling businesses, to franchising and business planning. Learn the difference between partnerships, corporations and limited liability, as well as the laws guiding these topics. Interested in patenting a great idea? eHow's experts explain patent laws with step-by-step instructions on how to patent your great ideas. Are you a small business owner? Learn more about partnerships and sole proprietorships along with taxes, insurance and labor laws.

Categories in Business Law

Articles in Business Law

How to Report Someone for Violating Your Small Business Trade Secrets

By eHow Business Editor

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Almost all businesses have important secrets that give them a competitive edge. Keeping these trade secrets confidential can be crucial to the success of the company, as a violation of them can result in financial losses and is a considered a ... more »

How to Terminate a Contract Prior to Start

By PrincessDK

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Under normal circumstances, a contract is terminated when its stated conditions have been satisfied. In other words, most parties conclude their contract relationship by performing the obligations under which the contract was created. Sometimes ... more »

How to Understanding the Meaning of Freedom

By mutasem nussairat

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about "meaningless words" that are endlessly repeated in the political arena. Words like "freedom," "democracy," and "justice," Orwell explained, have been abused so long that their original meanings have ... more »

How to Create an Invention Decision Chart

By eHow Legal Editor

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With so many hurdles to face, inventors feel challenged to remember each phase in the process. Streamline the many steps involved in bringing an invention to market by making an Invention Decision Chart. You can prepare the Invention Decision ... more »

How to Decide Whether You Should File a Claim in Small Claims Court

By llreynolds

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Small claims courts were set up in the last century to provide an informal way for people to collect everyday debts. They are used by banks, landlords and neighbors to extract payments from people debtors. Before you start filling out forms, ... more »

How to File Shelf Registration Statements

By eHow Legal Editor

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When your corporation is ready to offer its stock to the public, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) requires you to file shelf registration statements. Shelf registration statements are basically forms you file to tell the SEC and the ... more »

How to Identify S Corporation Traps

By eHow Legal Editor

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For many businesses, filing taxes as an S corporation, or S-corp, is a good way to lower their tax burden and distribute the costs of doing business. Each shareholder is taxed according to the amount of his or her share, thus relieving the ... more »

How to Report a Business You Suspect Is Committing Tax Fraud

By eHow Legal Editor

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If you suspect a business is committing tax fraud, you should report it. Follow these steps... more »

How to Understand Eminent Domain

By JRMaughan

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The right to use and possess property is fundamental to the American ideals of liberty and freedom. Therefore, few issues are more controversial than the U.S. government’s decision to exercise its power to limit the use of land or to take away an ... more »

How to Write a Contract

By eHow Legal Editor

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Contracts are documents that make personal and business agreements official and binding, ensuring both parties' safety in entering such an agreement. Contracts are invaluable tools that help both you and the contractor understand the terms of ... more »

How to Calculate Business Gifts in Tax Deductions

By esplainer

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Giving a business gift is a good way to show appreciation to a client, customer, vendor or employee. It can also be a deductible expense on your tax return if you follow the IRS rules and stay within the allowable limits. In some case, however, ... more »

How to Circulate a Petition

By eHow Legal Editor

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Petitions are a way to get change. Whether it's a stop sign needed at a busy corner or an effort to save an endangered animal, there is power in numbers when you're trying to spread the word. Follow these steps to successfully circulate a petition... more »

How to Create Franchise Agreements for a Prospective Buyer

By eHow Business Editor

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A franchise agreement is a legally-binding contract that outlines all aspects of the franchisor-franchisee relationship. From the specific role of each party to royalties and training programs, these agreements aim to ensure that each party knows ... more »

How to Fill Out Form 8109

By eHow Legal Editor

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IRS form 8109 is a machine-readable deposit ticket used to pay quarterly taxes. After receiving their Employer Identification Numbers (EIN), businesses are sent coupon booklets that are preprinted with their specific information. Individuals must ... more »

How to Find State Specific Franchise Laws for Texas

By eHow Legal Editor

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Franchises are the offspring of pre-existing businesses. While you own the franchise business, you license the use of the existing company's legal intellectual property. Each state has enacted its own laws governing such business ventures, which ... more »

How to Follow the SRO Listing Rules

By eHow Legal Editor

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An SRO is a self-regulatory organization. In American securities law, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the SRO that creates and enforces securities listing rules that all businesses must follow. These rules vary depending upon the ... more »

How to Franchise a Business in the United States

By eHow Business Editor

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A small business owner can reap very large financial rewards by franchising a business in the United States. Motivations to franchise include a higher return on investment, a reduced risk and higher capital retention, but the benefits don't come ... more »

How to Organize a Demand Letter

By eHow Legal Editor

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A demand letter can often provide the result you desire without going to court. Gathering written documentation is essential to organizing that demand letter. Your documentation will not only help you organize the letter, it will also be your ... more »

How to Respect Everyone in the Jury Rooms in NYC and Other Boroughs

By Lindaperry

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Serving on a Jury in any of the boroughs of New York, is a little different than serving on juries elsewhere. First, just because of the size of the city, you have to do things differently. NYC is not always the friendliest city but you will ... more »

How to Understand the Effects of Securities Law on Your Public Limited Liability Company

By eHow Legal Editor

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When the bottom fell out of the stock market in 1929, the lack of securities laws was partly to blame. Since that time, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was created to protect investors and to generally keep the market above board. To ... more »

How to Analyze a Patent Search Report

By eHow Legal Editor

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Qualified patent searchers routinely perform patentability reports on new inventions. If you've hired a patent searcher to determine your invention's market worth, request that he memorialize his findings in a well-documented report. Consider the ... more »

How to Avoid Jaywalking Tickets

By greengreen

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While jaywalking may have been joked about in the past,a recent wave of jaywalking tickets are making people take jaywalking more seriously... more »

How to Avoid Tax Problems As An Independent Contractor

By Kristie Raburn

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To keep the IRS away from your door, there are several things to watch for as an Independent Contractor. As employers can save a lot of money by using Independent Contractors, (they don’t have to pay employer taxes, unemployment taxes, or city, ... more »

How to Buy anything at a Discount in a bad Economy Things you should know!

By dummy2

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Yes the name of the game is CASH and when things are bad for one they are food for another!I learned some good lessons long time ago about buying and selling in bad times for me the eighty's where worst time of my life economically. First we had ... more »

How to Buy Software for Contract Writing

By eHow Legal Editor

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All businesses have to deal with the routine hassles involved in contract writing. However, the good news is that you can buy contract writing software to help you create these documents and make them look and sound professional... more »