Ask HN: US business law books

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1461005

by anemecek • 16 years ago

3 3 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Good day to all. Can anyone recommend a book about the US business laws focusing on start-up problems (i.e. what to avoid, how to not get screwed over etc.)?

gtani• 16 years ago

These blogs are a starting point:

http://www.thestartuplawyer.com/

http://www.infochachkie.com/roping-in-the-legal-eagles/

http://venturehacks.com/archives#lawyers

http://www.technologystartuplaw

http://www.startupcompanylawyer.com/

grellas• 16 years ago

Two good ones:

Edwin L. Miller, Lifecycle of a Technology Company: Step-by-Step Legal Background and Practical Guide from Startup to Sale (http://www.amazon.com/Lifecycle-Technology-Company-Step-Step...)

Constance E. Bagley and Craig E. Dauchy, The Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Law (http://www.amazon.com/Entrepreneurs-Guide-Business-Law/dp/03...)

Both of these do a good job of delineating startup issues from a legal perspective. They do so from what I would call a "big firm" perspective, which means heavy emphasis on VC-template-style companies as opposed to the leaner or bootstrap variety. Nonetheless, both do an excellent job of presenting the formal legal questions in practical contexts and both give clear explanations of the main issues involved in a startup from inception to exit.

Edit: The Miller book actually does a pretty good job of covering IP basics and, beyond that, I don't know of any particularly standout general IP book written for business people (there are some pretty good ones covering specific categories such as patent). By the way, as between Bagley/Dauchy and Miller, the Miller book is my personal favorite for startups - it was originally written as a big-firm treatise (multi-volume, with each of 4 or 5 volumes costing $200 or so), dry as dust, and then magically transformed through a fabulous edit job at Wiley into a well-distilled presentation of startup issues.

anemecek• 16 years ago

Thank you so much. I saw on your linkedin profile that you specialize in IP protection as well, can you recommend some books from that category as well?

Ask HN: US business law books

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