E-Commerce
For more than a decade, Briggs and Morgan has served Internet and e-commerce businesses and emerging growth companies of all sizes, along with venture capital and other investors in these businesses. We provide transactional and general counsel services, as well as litigation, to the boards and management of public and private companies.
In addition to business formation and choice of entity issues, Briggs attorneys assist with understanding federal and state regulations relating to the Internet, e-commerce and cross-border sales and communications. We can also work with clients to secure the right domain names; ensure that trade secrets and work product remain company property; address data protection and privacy concerns; establish joint ventures involving domain names, Internet sites and e-commerce business platforms; establish and handle administration of stock option plans, stock purchase plans and other employee incentive programs; and solve income and sales tax issues.
Internet and e-commerce businesses operate in a unique climate and require special licenses and agreements. Briggs’ attorneys assist with creating and negotiating these agreements for software and hardware licensing; Web site linking; Internet service provider and hosting; software development; content and Web site development; co-branding and cross-branding; advertising, consulting, outsourcing, distribution, supply, shipping and sponsorship; warranties covering products sold over the Internet; proprietary information and inventions; trademark, copyright and other intellectual property concerns.
Major assets of most Internet and e-commerce businesses also require considerable intellectual property protection. We frequently assist clients in protecting intellectual property associated with Internet sites, the content and services provided by Internet sites, and company trademarks.
Briggs attorneys also work in private placements, venture capital investments, preferred stock financings and initial public offerings. We have extensive experience counseling clients through each stage of financing through work with public companies regarding Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ Stock Market listings, and other matters. Our attorneys regularly counsel Internet and e-commerce companies on mergers and acquisitions; sales and joint ventures involving a company as a whole, as well as domain names, Internet sites and e-commerce business platforms; and sales and purchases.
In addition to transactional assistance, we are available for Internet and e-commerce business litigation matters involving: domain name and cybersquatting disputes, trademark, copyright, patent, trade secret and proprietary information disputes, and claims under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA); breach of contract claims; antitrust and unfair competition disputes; privacy disputes; and false advertising disputes.