Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Publication

You already know some of the 'forms' you need. Your problem is that you apparently think you can pick them up in a store somewhere. Legitimate businesses hire attorneys to create those forms, tailored to suit their needs. Feel free to contact me if interested in doing so.

Re: Publication

Attorneys looking at a request like this will look at it sort of like an interior decorator would look at the following question: "My husband and I just bought a six-room ranch-style house in West Covina, and we were wondering what art prints we should buy to decorate it with."

A well-run publishing business will have at least a working relationship with an intellectual-property attorney, and will use releases that are at least given occasional professional review, if not created anew for each situation; it may be possible to re-use "forms" (with caution) once they reside within your word-processor, and for some really routine matters it may even be OK to have a stack of preprinted fill-in-the-blanks forms on a shelf in your stock room, but such forms should have been written or reviewed by your own attorney before being printed up.

Finally, it may be helpful advice to go to a large bookstore (bricks-and-mortar or on line) and look to see what's available in the way of self-help law books for small publishers, self-publishing, or for authors and artists to protect their work (thus giving you a glimpse from another angle). These books might mention or suggest or even describe forms that you haven't thought of. There are also such books covering intellectual property protection by copyright.

Re: Publication

There is no exhaustive list...it depends on what type of publication you will be running. Your list is a start but there are plenty others...to numerous to mention.

Equally important will be the contracts a company such as yours will need. Employement, independant contractor agreement, licensing etc...which you should get an attorney to prepare and draft.

Feel free to conact me for a consult.

Re: Publication

No one will be able to answer this over lawguru. You need to see an attorney and describe your exact situation to them. Not all publication companies are the same and we cannnot tell you how to structure your legal situation without discussing this with you.

Re: Publication

I would seek out the services of an attorney for this question and to set up your publication company. The list of items you need are extensive and determined on your basic situation. A few hundred dollars today may save you hundreds of thousands in the future. I highly suggest you seek legal representation for this.

Thanks for the question and if you would like a consultation please do not hesitate to contact me.