Components of a Shareholders Agreement

What makes a shareholders agreement complete?

As the name suggests, the shareholders agreement is an agreement that deals with the rights and obligations of the shareholders in a particular company. There are some obvious advantages of the shareholders agreement (flexibility, low administer costs, confidentiality, increased protection of the shareholders) and unfortunately, some disadvantages (problems with bankruptcy, monopolistic practices).

However, all shareholders agreements would normally contain the following things: ownership and voting rights section, control and management section, dispute resolution and other features. The ownership section states how shareholders can trade the shares and outlines any restrictions that they might have. For example, some shares are not allowed to sell for some period – that can be a week but it can be a year as well. Or you can sell them, but you pay a fine for that. Other shares explicitly require approval by the Board and just then can be sold. Remember that before going for a shareholders agreement it is essential to know how to establish successful business relationships. 

There are shares that can substitute for obligations or even for real estate assets. In general, most shares can be sold freely but companies design different kinds of shares to meet their needs. There are more than 500 different types of shares according to many sources and it will take a while to describe all of them. It is also mentioned in this chapter, how interest on shares is formed. Some shares also give the right to vote while others do not. Many people are also given the opportunity to change the type of their shares. It is also very important to describe the per-emption rights here. This is the exclusive right to buy newly issued shares before anyone else. It is normally granted to current shareholders and it is meant to keep the control of the company. Minority shareholders also get protection in this section.

What is "Copyright" and why do you need a copyright license agreement

When do we need a copyright license agreement?

You need a copyright license agreement when you have an original piece of work (idea, music, written text, etc.) and you want to prevent other people from using it without restrictions. By obtaining copyright, you receive the exclusive rights to this original piece of work. Normally, it does not last forever and at some point of time, other people will be allowed to use it without your permission. But for the time, for which it lasts, you can use it exclusively in the way you want. Most people use it for profit but other uses are also feasible. 
Most people are concerned about what clauses to include in their copyright license agreement

Obviously, you cannot copyright everything. You cannot copyright any given word you want for your own exclusive use. For example, you cannot copyright words like “love” or “letter” and many others commonly used words in the everyday speech. However, you can register a brand name and if you have the copyright for it, other companies cannot use it without your permission. Well, actually they can use it but you can hold them liable for illegal use of your property (as copyright is property like any other kind of property). Imagine if someone used your house without your permission – it is the very same situation here. Most companies are wise enough not to do that and the ones, which breach copyright, risk serious fines.