Website Development Issues. Another area of particular concern relates to the development of the online dating site itself. If an independent website development company is chosen to create and maintain the website, appropriate legally binding contracts should be executed dealing with issues such as who owns the copyright to the website content, how the developer will be paid, whose obligation it is to maintain/repair the site, or defects therein, dispute resolution, and what happens if the relationship is terminated.
Shareholder Issues. The final consideration on this legal checklist involves the relationship between the owners of the business. If one person is the sole owner of the business, this last consideration may not apply. However, to the extent that various individuals are operating as mutual owners, shareholders, or partners in a particular business venture, their relationship between each other must be clearly set forth and agreed to in an operating agreement or a shareholder agreement. Inevitably, disputes will arise, and some method must be set forth in writing to address how those disputes will be resolved. The worst scenario is a corporation equally owned by an even number of shareholders, which allows for a deadlock in decision-making to occur. In the event of a deadlock, the corporation or business entity may be thrown into receivership, whereby a receiver takes over the operation and decision-making functions, so that the business can continue to operate despite the deadlock between shareholders or owners. This is all expensive, time-consuming, and emotionally draining on the owners, and should be avoided at all costs. The development of an operating agreement between the owners is a critical part of the creation of the business venture, and the best time to address difficult issues between business partners is at the beginning, when there are no disputes. Many issues typically addressed in the shareholder agreement are not often considered or anticipated by the owners, such as the event of death or disability of one or more of the shareholders, the desire to sell shares to a third-party, rights of a divorced spouse to all or part of the business, and other such uncomfortable matters. Many of these concerns can be addressed by simple legal tools like insurance, trusts or incorporation of rights of survivorship into the ownership structure. All of these issues should be considered and addressed before any disputes arise to allow for the smooth functioning of the business and the efficient resolution of disputes or major decision making.
Conclusion
The above checklist represents some of the typical legal matters commonly encountered by online sites. Of course, many others are possible, and your general counsel can explore these numerous legal concerns in-depth. The best time to address any of these legal matters is before a legal concern arises, forcing the business into ?emergency mode.? Many legal emergencies can be avoiding with minimal preparatory activity, whereas failing to address important legal concerns can result in a major disruption, or even destruction, of your online dating business venture.
© Lawrence G. Walters, PA 2005. Nothing contained in the forgoing article constitutes legal advice, and all specific legal questions should be directed to your personal attorney. Lawrence Walters practices in the areas of online dating, media and advertising law. The law firm of Weston, Garrou & DeWitt has existed for over 40 years, and has litigated media cases throughout the country, including 7 cases at the Untied States Supreme Court. Mr. Walters can be reached at
[email protected],
www.FirstAmendment.com, or via AOL screen name ?Webattorney.?