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5: Other agreements you may need in the course of your business

Documents play an essential role in protecting the interests of the business and the business owners over the course of a company’s lifetime. Here is a list of five common legal documents used by startups and small businesses.

There are a number of documents that your startup may need depending on the type of business and the products or services you offer.

Tackling your “legal needs” can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be.

How documents become legally binding

A signature on a legal document is evidence of one’s intention to enter into the terms laid out in the document. In 1998, Singapore became one of the first countries to allow the signing of legal documents online. Hong Kong soon followed. E-signatures hold the same weight and validity as a hard copy signature, but without the paper, transport, and time.

Why use e-signatures?

Alternative to pen and paper
Send and sign anywhere in the world
Legally binding
Paper-free
Save time
Save postage costs
Added convenience
Cloud storage

Common legal documents

Intellectual Property Assignment Agreement

Intellectual property is one of the most important parts of any business, particularly for example for technology startups, where it is vital. You should therefore be careful when entering into any agreement that involves sharing or using intellectual property. The Intellectual Property Assignment Agreement transfers the ownership and rights A>to specified intellectual property, for example intellectual property created by an employee of a company. Under this agreement, the employee will no longer have any A>rights in or to the intellectual property assigned.

Confidentiality Agreement

Your business has information that should remain private, such as customer database, financial information, or new business ideas. A Confidentiality Agreement is your first line of defence to protecting this information. This legal document creates a confidential relationship between your business and any contractors, employees, and other business partners who might get a behind-the-scenes look at your operations.

Term Sheet

If your business is looking for funding, investors will usually ask for a Term Sheet. This is a preliminary document that will include the key terms of an investment in a company, including the agreed-upon valuation of the business, the proposed capitalisation table, the key financial and legal terms, and the rights of the company and the investors.

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Certain businesses will require a set of rules that inform people of the conditions that apply to them when they use your services or website. If you don’t specify terms and conditions, you put yourself at risk of uncertainty and misunderstandings.

Privacy Policy

In the course of your business, customers may be required to provide their personal information to you. While the law dictates how this personal information may be used by your company, a privacy policy will inform your customers how this information will be used.

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