Copyright law can seem complicated. But it’s simply a law that says that if you create something, then you own it. For businesses, copyright can apply to things you use everyday such as graphics used on websites and in advertising or blog content. Get to know how to create and protect your copyrights. This guide examines how to protect your own copyrighted materials and avoid improper use of copyrights belonging to others.
Participant: Everyone
Operating a Sole Proprietorship
As the owner of a farm or food enterprise, you choose how you want to operate it. Choosing the right business structure is important because it affects many aspects of your company. For example, it can influence tax treatment, exposure to risk and liability, and personal control over the business. New farmers or food entrepreneurs often operate as sole proprietors. This legal guide discusses the features and obligations of operating your business is as a sole proprietorship.
Cultivating Good Food Policy
This policy advocacy guide is aimed at farmers, food entrepreneurs, nonprofits, activists, and anyone interested in driving policy solutions to make long-lasting change. It is designed to be a tool to help you understand the policymaking process in Massachusetts and how to develop high-impact advocacy campaigns. Using these strategies, you and your allies can contribute to creating policy that helps the food system thrive.
Community Kitchens Legal Guide
Across New England, community kitchens are springing up to support food entrepreneurs, improve access to locally grown food, and support local farmers. This guide helps community kitchens and kitchen users – including small businesses and nonprofit groups – understand how to make use of these invaluable spaces and how to comply with the laws governing their operation.
How to Choose a Business Structure: A Decision Tree
As a farmer or food business, choosing a business structure is an important decision with important implications for your business and your personal liability. This decision guide, developed by Conservation Law Foundation, walks you through the different business structures you can consider and weighs the advantage and drawbacks of each option. This guide is a great starting point for businesses thinking about what business structure is right for you.
Shared Use & Community Kitchens
Community kitchens can provide entrepreneurs and community groups a crucial link to building food businesses or running community food programs. This webinar shares some of the considerations for using shared community kitchen space legally, safely and successfully. The webinar includes an introduction to community use of kitchens, understanding the basics of what community and residential kitchens are and are not allowed to do, key legal considerations for community kitchens, and a case study of a successful food entrepreneur working who started in a shared kitchen.
This webinar was produced by Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) in partnership with Franklin Regional Council of Governments, Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation, Conservation Law Foundation, Massachusetts Association of Health Boards, Franklin County Community Development Corporation, and Whole Harmony.
Deciding on the Right Structure for Your Business
Selecting a business structure is one of the first decisions when starting a food or farm business. The structure you choose influences day-to-day operations, how you pay taxes and even how much of your personal assets are at risk. This Lightning Guide introduces farmers and food entrepreneurs to different types of business structures. You’ll learn about:
- sole proprietorships,
- general partnerships,
- limited liability companies (LLCs), and
- corporations.
The guide compares business formation requirements, liability and taxation for the different structures. Use this handy guide to begin your exploration into the business structure that is right for you.
Introduction to Trademarks
Your business offers fresh, high-quality produce and value-added foods and has built a good reputation in the community. But, can you protect your “brand” — the good-will and trust you have developed for your business? Can you prevent competitors from riding on the coattails of your good reputation? Learn to use strong trademarks effectively. This Lightning Guide sets out how to obtain and protect your trademark and how to identify trademark infringement.
Protecting Your Intellectual Property
This webinar, presented by CLF Senior Fellow and attorney Mary Rose Scozzafava, provides an overview of trademark and copyright law for food entrepreneurs and farmers,. If you are proud of the brand you’ve built and want to understand how best to protect it, this webinar is a great starting point. The webinar includes introductions to the following topics: (1) trademarks, including registering, using, and enforcing your trademark; (2) copyright; (3) patent; and (3) trade secret.