Creating a working legal structure for the IT-business

The successful business structure that operates in the development of products of intellectual labor lies in:

Proper corporate structuring

Transfer pricing, tax base dilution and penalties from the tax authorities – this is what the advice of unscrupulous lawyers leads to, for whom the entire corporate structuring consists of setting up a company in a low-tax jurisdiction in the EU (Cyprus, Netherlands, Luxembourg) and further accumulation of monetary assets in those jurisdictions.

Contrary to the above, our solutions are not a copy of the structures created by American lawyers dozens of years ago, because every business is individual, has its own structure of economic transactions and needs.

Legal support for labor and contractor relations

Considering the “tax planning” relationships with employees, employers often register them as independent contractors. This practice has become widespread and each of the IT-companies, registered in the U.S., EU or CIS countries, hiring employees builds a civil rather than an employment relationship. Often this is done unconsciously, without correctly calculating of the tax liabilities, because of the low professionalism of lawyers.

This approach is fundamentally wrong, because only preliminary calculations can show what is economically more profitable. Yes, in most cases drawing up relations with “independent contractors” is really more profitable for the company, but unconscious application of such practices can lead to trouble with the tax and labor services of the country where the company is registered as an employer.

If you do not want to receive a lot of penalties from the authorities, contact the professionals who will conduct an audit and make a correct structure of the legal relationship between the IT-business and the employees.

Protection of the confidential information

21st century is characterized by the value increasing of the information as an intangible asset. For IT-company such information can be a trade secret, unpatented intellectual property or personal data of clients. At the same time, for the business activity of any company, is necessary to provide access to such information to the contractors and employees periodically.

The work to prevent information leakage should take two forms: technical and legal. Legarithm lawyers have considerable experience in drafting contracts with counterparties and employees, with clear mechanisms to prevent the misuse of such information. We know how valuable information is to you, so our solutions are comprehensive and take into account all possible scenarios.

Protection of intellectual property rights

Creation and sale of products of human intellectual activity forms the core of IT-business. Without a right in such IP, your company is destined to go to bankrupt. Our team will structure all IP rights which were created or purchased by your company, we will also propose additional protection regimes, taking into account your goals and capabilities.

Our lawyers will provide comprehensive advice on registration of trademarks, patents in various jurisdictions, as well as assist in copyright registration of software in various jurisdictions. The main forms of intellectual property rights protection that are similar in all jurisdictions are copyright (copyright), trademark and patent and we have considerable experience in obtaining them for our clients.

An elaborate contractual framework

IT-business suggests constant interaction with contractors from different jurisdictions, moreover your company is likely to be registered in one of the foreign jurisdictions. The imperative norms, that cannot be changed upon the parties’ consent and the categories of cases, in which it is impossible to choose the dispute resolution location – this is only a small part of what you may encounter in multijurisdictional legal relations in the IT-sphere.

Despite the above, the Internet is overflowing with examples of various contracts, usually of poor quality, the use of which carries many hidden risks: they can be prepared in accordance with outdated legislation, do not meet the goals of your company, designed for use in other countries, contain provisions that are harmful to your interests and much more. Legarithm is not about drafting better standard contracts. We do not offer one package of identical standard contracts for all our clients, despite the common practice. You can be sure that each of our contracts is a legal document, tailored to your situation and your goals, which will provide comprehensive protection for your interests and guarantee the performance of counterparties obligations.

Verified bank accounts

These days, it’s hard to find a company that does business and doesn’t use a bank account. As anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) measures become stricter, banks are increasingly refusing to open accounts. Our lawyers have repeatedly opened bank accounts in various jurisdictions.

We are good not only in the law, but also in the business practices in foreign jurisdictions which is why we find the best bank that will not close your account the day after it was opened. We take into account all important factors in determining the right bank for you, particularly your type of business, where the company is registered, turnover, rates, currencies for sending, accepting payments and the ability to work with non-residents. In addition, we work with a large network of licensed payment institutions and banks and can find options for remote account opening, without having to visit the bank in person.