When starting a business, compliance with the legal aspects to be considered is often overlooked due to lack of time, knowledge or even resources to hire a specialized professional.

When we talk about startups, this situation is even more accentuated, since things happen with greater speed and often informality, with the goal of the entrepreneur to quickly get an idea of ​​the role, to develop an innovative business model with the least investment possible, to find investors who believe in this model and consolidate it.

It happens that often the legal aspects are neglected and the legal implications of the new business are left out, a fact that at first it may seem to be unimportant, they can have great consequences

Among the various legal concerns that should be on a startup's list are the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, formal constitution of the company, tax planning, the creation of internal policies and standard documents and, not least, measures for the protection of its employees. immaterial assets.

Entrepreneurs usually try to set up the company, are concerned with tax issues for their business, draft investment / mutual / partnership contracts and any instrument that allows the startup to achieve the desired success, but often neglect its immaterial assets, which many is the most valuable asset.

Startups are mostly connected to the technology area or have technology as the mainstay of their business and have as their main asset their business model, which is usually an idea to be implemented through software (application / app).

Since the startup is a model based on innovation, its value is intrinsically linked to its immaterial assets, be it its brand, software or platform, and for this reason the lack of protection of such immaterial assets can seriously devalue the enterprise before entrepreneurs.

Behind an application created by a startup we have software, so eventual protection will be provided by copyright law (Law No. 9,610 / 98) and by specific legislation (Law No. 9,609 / 98 - Software Law).

However, many discussions can arise with respect to who is the author of the software, starting all the problems.

According to the national “author” law, the author can only be an individual and so it is necessary to transfer ownership of the software's patrimonial rights to the legal entity (startup), entering into a software assignment contract, thus ensuring that the possibility for investors not just an idea, but a solid business structured and protected under the law.

Among immaterial assets, not only software must be protected, assets such as brand, domain, patents and industrial designs must be taken into account and protected by the startup.

Thus, if a startup does not take steps to protect its rights properly, it may lose investors or even see a competitor creating similar products or even appropriating the idea.

Therefore, always consult a lawyer so that he can guide you on the best ways to follow to protect your business.