Legal Question in Business Law in New York

First, with all this user generated content I truly hope you get professional attention for the drafting of your terms. Next, I'm not sure why you think this content provided by others becomes yours entirely? It does not unless you provide for that and you may want to think through this all. You will also need to qualify for the safe harbor under the DMCA so you are not going to be held liable for any infringement that occurs by your users.

Your copyright interest affixes automatically in the US. You register the works of creative expression with the US Copyright Office to perfect those rights and acquire certain very important benefits such as the right to access federal courts, the right to statutory damages (sometimes the only damages you can get), the right to attorney fees, among others. Not every aspect of the site will qualify and certainly not the creative expression provided by others unless there is a proper assignment in place.

You are going to have a number of legal considerations here (e.g., web terms/privacy policy, entity formation, trademark, copyright, to name a few), so I would definitely talk it all over with a lawyer in private before pulling the trigger. If you would like to discuss further over a free phone consult, feel free to contact me anytime that is convenient.

Our firm is now referred by the American Bar Association (see under the New York section):

http://www.americanbar.org/groups/delivery_legal_services/resources/programs_to_help_those_with_moderate_income.html

Kind regards,

Frank

www.LanternLegal.com

866-871-8655

[email protected]

DISCLAIMER: this is not intended to be specific legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. No attorney-client relationship is formed on the basis of this posting.