Starting A T-Shirt Co.

[TeeKay]

I've recently decided to take all of the designs i've worked on for a few years now, and actually do something with them! So I wanted to start just a small T-Shirt company, accept, I'm not sure where to start when it comes to the legal stuff.
I just want to make sure that I'm not doing anything illegal.
Does anyone have any advice?

[ltressel]

I've recently decided to take all of the designs i've worked on for a few years now, and actually do something with them! So I wanted to start just a small T-Shirt company, accept, I'm not sure where to start when it comes to the legal stuff.
I just want to make sure that I'm not doing anything illegal.
Does anyone have any advice?

What legal stuff are you worried about? Be specific. Copyrights? Entity? Contracts?

[TeeKay]

The start of it. What kind of paperwork will I need to do just to start the company? Also, what will I need to copywright (the company/company name)?

[BusinessAdviser]

Start here for the IP issue:

United States Patent and Trademark Office Home Page
U.S. Copyright Office

[edwardhalim]

Are you talking about federal tax numbers and sellers permit? that sort of legal stuff? That will depends on the states that you are in. I'm familiar with the California, if you need any help you can shoot me a PM

-Ed

[ltressel]

There had been plenty of threads discussing forming legal entities on here. You're already in the legal forum. Browse through them. If that isn't sufficient-use google to search for more info.

It's always good to educate yourself so when you are ready to plunge in to the entrepreneurial world you'll know what the attorney is referring to when he starts talking about LLC, S-Corp, C-corp.

Your copyright question is still a little bit broad. Are you wanting to copyright your designs or are you just worried about yourself violating copyrights of other companies? Or do you mean trademarking your logos and such?

I would recommend that you google information that you need. Once you feel that you are comfortable with some legal jargon, sit down with an attorney so they can assist you in everything your business will need when it comes to legalizing your business.


LT

[JazzyJay]

I have one of my monthly articles for my magazine that I will be putting out this weekend on the subject, it is a monthly business startup idea article and this one is all about starting your own screen printing/clothing business. Contact me and I will personally send you a copy of the article this weekend, or just go and sign up for my blog and you can get it there.

Cheers

Jazzy

[JazzyJay]

The article I mentioned yesterday can now be found on my blog, just click the link in my signature, and don't forget to get your RSS Feed as we will be doing fallow up articles on this during the week.

[MASapparel]

I screen print and design, do a lot of work with clothing lines. Let me know if you need any help.

info@makeascenenow.com

[Z.Smith]

I have been working on something similar as well involving a new clothing brand and the problem that I've run into is coming up with a name that I like. I've come up with a couple that I like, but some of them seem to be in use but on a very small scales. What would I need to look into to avoid running in to legal issues later on should I go with something already in use? If nothing is trademarked or copyrighted, am I in the clear or is it gonna be too much of a hassle to deal with and should I just go with something else?