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Why You Should Trademark Your MLM Company Name

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MLM Attorney – How a MLM Lawyer Can Help Your Direct Selling Business

Charity — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 23:06:36 +0000

This blog post is the companion post to the video T he Legal Issues of Starting and Running a MLM Company. The following is the transcript of MLM Attorney Jeff Babener’s own words:

Hi, I’m Jeff Babener of MLMLegal.com, and I’d like to talk to you today MLMLegal.com. Don’t leave home without it.

At first glance, one might question the role of the MLM law expert in a marketing-driven industry. However, your MLM lawyer may be the single most valuable resource that you will ever utilize.

There are very few in the gene pool who have intimate, practical knowledge, as well as legal knowledge of the business; often understanding the business better than most of his or her clients. It is a unique blend of marketing, practical knowledge, and experience combined together, with practical legal experience, that may cause the MLM lawyer to answer questions (off the top of his or her head) in five minutes what would take a typical business lawyer five years to research. And, in which case, they would still probably not understand the issues, let alone the solutions. For better or for worse, the practices of the MLM industry have induced scores of legislation and regulatory control, such as pyramid statutes, MLM statutes, Business Opportunity, security, FTC, and postal regulation. Notwithstanding the success of the industry, there is always tension between the regulatory community and the MLM industry. Overzealous regulators and rouge operators guarantee that this state of affairs will always exist.

Later issues with distributor relations, distributor discipline, FDA, trademark, tax, and international expansion arise. It is easy to see why the MLM attorney is probably the first person with whom you should establish a relationship and with who you should grow. That person is a trusted business advisor and a member of your business team.

At a minimum, you would be premature to jump into the marketplace without a legal review by MLM Legal Counsel of the most basic of sales kit contents. The basics include representative agreements, policies and procedures, product brochures, marketing plan presentations, as well as various forms, ranging from retail receipts to auto ship, to multiple owner applications, etcetera.

Responding after the fact to regulatory agencies over deficient materials or answering distributor complaints for slip shot documentation is too little, too late. And it will be too bad for the start up MLM business.

Wishing you the best in your direct-selling business, I’m Jeff Babener.

For more information visit our websites: www.mlmlegal.com and www.mlmattorney.com.

Or, visit these links for more information:

Profile of the Leading MLM Law Firm – Babener & Associates and MLMLegal.com

An Introduction to Direct Selling and The Basics of MLM

Recruiting Advice from an Industry Expert – The MLM Fairytale “Network Marketing and Frogs”

Jeffrey Babener’s Youtube Channel Reaches 60,000 Views

Short Course on Network Marketing: Q&A with Jeffrey Babener on Pyramid Schemes Video

Profile of a Leading MLM Law Firm – Babener & Associates Video

How Does a Business Lawyer become a MLM Lawyer? Video

Is a MLM Lawyer a Typical Lawyer? Video

What is the role of an Experienced MLM Legal Counsel? Video

CNBC.com Cites Legal Expert, Jeffrey Babener on FTC Business Opportunity Rule

The Role of MLM Legal Counsel – Why Hire a MLM Attorney

Where to Find MLM Startup Tips and Answers from an Industry Expert

An Interview with Industry Expert and Advocate, Jeffrey Babener

Interview with Expert MLM Attorney – How to Handle Compliance Discussions with your Distributors

Make sure to visit our blogs for the latest information on the direct selling industry: MLMLegal Blog Home and MLM Attorney Blog Home. HINT: Chose a category to narrow your search for discussion topics!

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Profile of the Leading MLM Law Firm – Babener & Associates and MLMLegal.com

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And, as always, visit MLMLegal.com, the best MLM resource on the web. The next Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company Conference is quickly approaching! On February 21^st and 22^nd, 2013 we are hosting the MLM Conference for the 25^th year! This is now our 63nd annual conference (held almost consistently three times per year over the last 24 years). All executives/owners of MLM, direct selling, network marking, and party plan companies are welcome to attend. This is the original MLM Startup Conference, hosted and perfected by direct selling industry expert, MLM Attorney Jeff Babener. Call 503-226-6600 or 800-231-2162 to register. (Can’t make this event? Our next Conference takes place May 16^th & 17, 2013 in Las Vegas! Call our office to register today!)

Visit us at www.mlmlegal.com to learn more.

Creating Clear Agreements Between MLM Company Owners

Charity — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 19:42:49 +0000

This blog post is the companion post to the video Creating Clear Agreements Between Company Owners. The following is the transcript of MLM Attorney Jeff Babener’s own words:

Hello, I’m Jeff Babener, Editor of MLMLegal.com and I’d like to speak with you today about creating clear agreements between company owners. It is one thing for a MLM business to fail because of regulatory, legal, or financial challenges, but periodically, the industry is aghast when a MM company fails due to a dispute among company owners. Unfortunately, such events have occurred. The causes for such failure occurs because the business owners did not at the time of inception take sufficient care to outline their respective rights and responsibilities.

It may be a legal matter, but then again it is often a case of differing expectations about the future of the business. These expectations should be out in the open at the commencement of the business and mechanisms for dynamic change should be anticipated, including exit strategies for owners. The worst case scenario, which has occurred, is paralysis of the business while owners argue over management objectives. Obviously this problem cannot occur when there is one principal owner to the business. It tends not to occur when there are two owners. Three owners tend to produce a revolving alliance of two against one. More than three owners may well be a prescription for future disputes. In any event, managing expectations starts at home and at the beginning of the business.

Wishing you the best in your direct selling business, I’m Jeff Babener.

For more information visit our websites: www.mlmlegal.com and www.mlmattorney.com.

Or, visit these links for more information:

MLM: Legitimacy through Statistics, Global Business Position, and Pyramid Schemes

Learn What is Needed to Recruit Top-Selling Distributors for Your MLM Company

Interview with Expert MLM Attorney – Are Earnings Calculators Legal?

Why do companies restrict the type of advertising carried on by their distributors?

Should I Launch my MLM Business Locally or Nationally?

Paying Commissions on Sales Tools, Sales Kits, and Training Materials……No!

The Role of MLM Legal Counsel – Why Hire a MLM Attorney

Four Factors that Make a MLM Company Successful

Explaining Your MLM Company to the Public: Answering the Hard Questions

Who Should be the First Key Employee that a Company Should Hire?

MLM Executives Must Raise Capital in Order to Recruit Key Distributors

MLM Pyramid Schemes – Everything You Need to Know All in One Place

Interview with Expert MLM Attorney – How to Handle Compliance Discussions with your Distributors

Are you Starting a MLM Company?

The Top Two Reasons Why MLM Companies Fail

MLM and the FDA

How Important is Philanthropy to a MLM Company?

The Hallmarks of Legitimate Direct Selling/Network Marketing Companies

What Differentiates a Legitimate Direct Selling/Network Marketing Company from an Illegal Pyramid Scheme?

How Important are Merchant Accounts and Payment Processing Solutions for Direct Selling Companies?

Should an MLM, Direct Selling, Network Marketing Company Launch Internationally Immediately?

What Factors Make MLM Executives and MLM Companies Successful – Video

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MLMlegal Releases New Film on MLM Startup Conference – Produced by Networkingstar.com Video

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And, as always, visit MLMLegal.com, the best MLM resource on the web.The next Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company Conference is quickly approaching! On February 21^st and 22^nd, 2013 we are hosting the MLM Conference for the 25^th year! This is now our 63nd annual conference (held almost consistently three times per year over the last 24 years). All executives/owners of MLM, direct selling, network marking, and party plan companies are welcome to attend. This is the original MLM Startup Conference, hosted and perfected by direct selling industry expert, MLM Attorney Jeff Babener. Call 503-226-6600 or 800-231-2162 to register. (Can’t make this event? Keep an eye out for our May and October conferences as well.)

Visit us at www.mlmlegal.com to learn more.

Profile of the Leading MLM Law Firm – Babener & Associates and MLMLegal.com

Charity — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:18:17 +0000

This blog post is the companion post to the video Profile of a Leading MLM Law Firm – Babener & Associates. The following is the transcription of MLM Attorney Jeff Babener’s own words:

Hi. I’m Jeff Babener, Chair of the Law Firm of Babener & Associates. Since I lecture and publish extensively, you have likely already visited our website: www.mlmlegal.com, which is one of the most frequently-visited websites on network marketing and one which we hope you find extremely helpful in starting your MLM or direct selling company. For the past 25 years, our law office has served as a key legal and business advisor to major companies like Avon, Shaklee, New Skin, ACM, Prepaid Legal, Longaberger, and Tupperware.

In fact, we’ve been right there at the beginning and actively involved in the creation of companies like Nikken, Excel, USANA, Melaleuca, and Legacy.

In addition, we have been actively involved in providing resources and support to companies like Quixtar, Creative Memories, and Mannatech. We represent many members of the DSA, and in fact, we even incorporated the MLMIA and served as their general counsel.

Although we are a full-service firm for MLM companies, we are direct selling specialists. We limit our clients strictly to MLM, direct sales, network marketing, and party planning companies. Much of our work is referred to us by small and large corporate law firms throughout the U.S. and other countries. We are an ultra-niche law firm and we have chosen to focus like a laser strictly on advising direct selling companies.

Although we have involvement with some well-established companies, which I’ve explained, our specialty is MLM startup.

Actually, all of the companies we helped to establish started with me on one side of a conference table and one of the individual founders – with high hopes – on the other. It may have been at our office. It may have been at one of the approximately 60 national conferences we have sponsored over the last two decades, entitled The Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company Conference. Or, it might have been after hearing me lecture at the University of Texas, the University of Illinois, or the University of Houston.

In the beginning, it was me sitting across the table from Frank VanderSloot of Melaleuca, or Tom Watanabe of Nikken, or Steve Smith and Kenny Troutt of Excel.

And, we are long term players. We brought Nikken to the U.S. from Fukuoka, Japan in 1990 and we have served as general counsel and their most trusted business advisor for 20 years, growing to represent the company in more than 40 countries.

Twenty years after Excel was sold to Wall Street for $1 billion, Steve Smith came back to us and said, “Jeff, let’s do this all over again. Let’s start another.” And we did.

Entrepreneurs come to us because we are far more than a law firm to them. We know this business. In fact, we probably know the business better than most of our clients. Over time, even though we are their lawyers, we tend to become their most trusted business advisors and member of their business team (via martin). And, usually more than 50% of our discussions are about successful operations and growth of their network marketing businesses, as opposed to mere legal issues.

As a courtesy, we often serve as their Keynote Speaker in support of our clients at major conventions. And, we have done so from Los Angeles to Nashville to Honolulu, and around the world, from Russia to China to Thailand. Our clients have used our credibility and reputation as a key asset in their growth.

We play an integral role on the legal and business front. For the startup company, we create all the documentation, agreements, policies, form language, etc. More importantly, we are intimately involved in the structure of the marketing program and the development of the compensation plan.

Our services involve trademarks, vendor agreements, labeling, FDA, sales tax; key relationships with founding distributors, medical or celebrity endorsements; administration of the distributor sales force in areas such as advertising, discipline, and communication; MLM registrations, regulatory compliance with the FTC, FDA, MLM statutes, postal, attorney general, and state consumer protection legislation.

In fact, both at the startup level and on an ongoing basis, not one piece of marketing material goes out that we don’t review and offer input. That includes all web and HTML copy, scripting, audio and video scripting, PowerPoint presentations, all hard copy and printed materials, web communication, and every other type of media.

Anything that will make its way to distributors, prospects, customers, and the public we’re involved in, and when we have created a great model, we help take our clients into international markets and around the world.

Everything we do in startup and long-term representation is driven by our number one goal, helping our clients be successful and stay in business. Our clients have our office number, home numbers, cell phone numbers, and private email addresses.

Unless we’re on a raft in a river canyon, we try to make ourselves always available. Expect to talk to us whether it is nighttime, or a weekend, or whether we are in Tokyo or Moscow or Beijing. As mentioned, we are long term members of a business team. We don’t know the meaning of “short term” relationships. We are looking for companies that intend to be successful and we intend to help make them successful.

If an MLM startup company is looking for this type of support then Babener & Associates is the right team partner for them. Please visit us at www.mlmlegal.com or call us at 503-226-6600.

For more information about the Law Office of Babener & Associates, visit our websites: www.mlmlegal.com and www.mlmattorney.com.

Or, visit these links for more information:

The MLM Startup Conference in Las Vegas Video

T he Legal Issues of Starting and Running a MLM Company Video

What is the role of an Experienced MLM Legal Counsel? Video

Is a MLM Lawyer a Typical Lawyer? Video

How Does a Business Lawyer become a MLM Lawyer? Video

Jeffrey Babener’s Youtube Channel Reaches 60,000 Views Blog Post

CNBC.com Cites Legal Expert, Jeffrey Babener on FTC Business Opportunity Rule Blog Post

NEW PRESS RELEASE – 63rd Annual MLM Startup Conference! Blog Post

The Role of MLM Legal Counsel – Why Hire a MLM Attorney Blog Post

The Nine Basics You Need to Understand in Order to Succeed in MLM – Interview with Jeff Babener Blog Post

Interview with Expert MLM Attorney – How to Handle Compliance Discussions with your Distributors Blog Post

An Interview with Industry Expert and Advocate, Jeffrey Babener Blog Post

The First Essential Hire for MLM Startup Companies Blog Post

FTC v. BurnLounge: Lessons Learned for MLM/Direct Selling Blog Post

MLMLegal on Google+ Blog Post

MLM Legal Cases Page – New Page Blog Post

Do I Need to Register my Company in all 50 States? Blog Post

Find us on our social networks:

Google Plus: http://plus.google.com/u/0/115279960045099999909#115279960045099999909/posts