Blog

Trade mark renewals - it pays to be suspicious

Have you recently received any official looking letters from the Patent & Trademark Organisation LLC? Treat these with suspicion. If you respond, you could end up paying exorbitant prices to renew your trade mark.

By Mike Worsnop - 23 Jul 2014

Are you a director of a company? Are you thinking about starting up a company with overseas directors or shareholders?

There have been recent changes to company legislation (through the Companies Amendment Act (No 4) 2014) that you need to be aware of.

By Melissa Higham - 8 Jul 2014

Running a new business - operating issues

Leases, terms of trade and employment agreements - getting the nuts and bolts of operating procedures right at the start is essential for success. Have you covered all the necessary legal areas? Are you satisfied that everything is in order and you are prepared? 

By Warren Bygrave - 29 Nov 2013

Starting a business - financing considerations

One of the key factors in starting a business is finance. The question to ask yourself is: do I have enough to get me started and see me through the hard times? You cannot assume that clients/customers will appear immediately. It often takes longer than you think. There are enough risks in business without increasing them by not considering all possibilities. 

By Warren Bygrave - 22 Nov 2013 - 1 comment

Company structures - directors' duties

One of the factors discussed in last week's blog was the thought that must be given to what structure is best suited to your new or startup business. Today's blog is about one of the options - operating a company. For a number of reasons, many people choose to run their business through a company. It is easy to set up and relatively simple to administer but it does bring with it some formality and a need to understand the obligations and duties involved.

By Warren Bygrave - 15 Nov 2013

Going into business

At a time when the economy is recovering, many people will be looking to their future and considering starting up a new business or buying an existing one.  This should be as good a time as any to do so.

By Warren Bygrave - 8 Nov 2013

Intellectual Property: The New Frontier

Some fairly grandiose claims have been made about the potential effect of new technologies such as 3D printing on traditional manufacturing industries, but based on the rapid developments in this area some of those claims are not nearly as overblown as they might first appear.  And as things stand, current intellectual property (IP) laws are unlikely to provide much in the way of protection for manufacturers and other IP owners.

By Mike Worsnop - 30 Jul 2013

The end of banks?

Well not quite. But the last few years have seen the rise of a number of alternative sources of funding to challenge the traditional banking model. One such source of funding is known as crowd funding.

By Mike Worsnop - 19 Jul 2013

Who is going to take over the business?

Succession Planning is a critical issue facing many SMEs. And when you stop to consider that something like 97% of businesses fall into that category (based on figures published by Statistics NZ), it's a critical issue for the New Zealand economy.

By Mike Worsnop - 12 Jul 2013

So what is happening out there?

It's a question we regularly get asked by clients. And for good reason - legal services is one of those bellwether industries.

By Mike Worsnop - 8 Jul 2013