Bookkeeping and Accounting Setup
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Client Contract and Intellectual-Property Controls
Clarify client contract and intellectual-property controls as a first-time owner: what decision you are making, what must happen now, what can wait, and the next concrete action.
6 guided steps
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Official guidance links
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Your free guided checker
Answer a few quick questions below. It is private - nothing is submitted or stored - and takes about a minute.
General information only; not legal, tax, insurance, cybersecurity, or investment advice. Confirm formation decisions with qualified advisers in every applicable jurisdiction.
The questions this tool walks you through
Here is what the checker asks and why each step matters. Prefer to talk it through? Contact us and we will help directly.
Before work begins, will the agreement define scope, acceptance, payment, expenses, change orders, IP ownership or license, confidentiality, data security, warranties, liability, termination, and disputes?
Answer based on what you genuinely know today. A “No” identifies a question or task; it does not mean you made a mistake.
Continue to the next control. Note this item for your final action list, then continue.
Official guidance: USPTO IP for inventors and entrepreneurs
Do you know exactly what the client receives, what counts as acceptance, how revisions are limited, and when payment becomes due?
Answer based on what you genuinely know today. A “No” identifies a question or task; it does not mean you made a mistake.
Continue to the next control. Note this item for your final action list, then continue.
Official guidance: USPTO IP for inventors and entrepreneurs
Will you retain reusable methods, templates, code, or portfolio rights while giving the client the ownership or license they actually purchased?
Answer based on what you genuinely know today. A “No” identifies a question or task; it does not mean you made a mistake.
Continue to the next control. Note this item for your final action list, then continue.
Official guidance: USPTO IP for inventors and entrepreneurs
Have you set default revision limits, acceptance criteria, and late-payment remedies you will actually enforce?
Answer based on what you genuinely know today. A “No” identifies a question or task; it does not mean you made a mistake.
Continue to the next control. Note this item for your final action list, then continue.
Official guidance: USPTO IP for inventors and entrepreneurs
Does your template state which work product the client owns, what you license, and what reusable methods you keep?
Answer based on what you genuinely know today. A “No” identifies a question or task; it does not mean you made a mistake.
Continue to the next control. Note this item for your final action list, then continue.
Official guidance: USPTO IP for inventors and entrepreneurs
Before work begins, will every engagement use written terms covering scope through disputes, including IP, confidentiality, and liability?
Answer based on what you genuinely know today. A “No” identifies a question or task; it does not mean you made a mistake.
Use the playbook on every new engagement Draft or adopt a template covering scope through disputes
Official guidance: USPTO IP for inventors and entrepreneurs
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