Protecting your brand is one of the most important things you need to do as a start up. Make sure you understand exactly what rights you have with trademarks.

Despite the fact that startups are relatively small, our legal needs are complex. You can’t skimp with lawyers if you’re building a startup. If cousin Joe has a general practice, he won’t do the job. You need specialized expertise.

If you are aware of a competitor who has been issued a patent improperly, there is an administrative remedy available to you at much lower cost than a lawsuit.

Today we launched answers.legalriver.com – a place to ask questions to both lawyers and other start up founders. To kick off the launch we’re having a contest to find the best question. Ask the best question and win a free hour of Legal Services and a year subscription to StartUpToDo.com

Mark MacLeod, currently the CFO at Tungle and Akoha, discusses ways for start ups to keep venture round costs to a minimum.

It’s common practice these days to purchase advertising keywords from search engines such as Google. But what happens when the keyword you purchase consists of the trademark of a competitor?