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I am a self-employed window cleaner and have a contract with a company owning several care homes. The company are always three to four months late in paying my invoices. Where do I stand and is there anything I can do? — by Maria Mason — last modified 2008-09-05 09:56

I am a self-employed window cleaner and as part of my business I clean the windows of several care homes for a very large company. I have worked for this company for over twelve years and it has always been hard to get them to pay in a reasonable time. I always have to make lots of chase up phone calls and send them copy invoices for "lost" invoices. I usually have to wait three to four months to get paid for work carried out, whereas I should be paid within 30 days of the invoice date. The homes are an established part of my business which I don't want to lose. Where do I stand legally and what can I do about this?

I have a name for my new business which I wish to protect. How do I go about doing this? — by Maria Mason — last modified 2008-09-04 13:20

I am in the process of setting up a tailoring made-to-measure suit business - I have a name for my business which I wish to protect - how do I go about doing this? What is the correct terminology and how much will it cost me?

I own 40% of a commercial property, what rights does my business partner, who owns 60%, have over me? — by Maria Mason — last modified 2008-08-06 11:09

I own 40% of a commercial property, what rights or power does my business partner, who owns 60%, have over me? Particularly as he wants to sell his share?

Can my wife upload some old clips to YouTube which were taped from 1980s television broadcasts? — by Conrad Murray — last modified 2008-08-01 16:16

My wife is friends with Bobby Ball of Cannon and Ball fame. He has given her permission to upload to Youtube some clips of their TV shows from the 80's. The clips are not commercially available anywhere and they are from her videos that she recorded from television. Is she allowed to do this? Bobby has given her permission but is unsure of copyright law or whether someone else may own the copyright or not. Tommy Cannon, the other half of Cannon and Ball has also given her permission.

A customer owes me money and has gone into administration. Some suppliers have been preferentially paid and I have received nothing. Surely this is prohibited? — by Maria Mason — last modified 2008-07-24 19:24

A customer owes me £23k and despite months of chasing has gone into administration. I have proof that they were preferentially paying some suppliers and I have received nil. I believe that there is something in Company Law where this is prohibited? I am trying to get my claim higher up the list.

I have been given two cheques which have bounced and are from a husband and wife joint account. Can I claim equally against both parties? — by Maria Mason — last modified 2008-07-04 14:13

I have been given two cheques from a husband and wife personal account, both of which have bounced. Can I claim equally against both parties to the account even though the wife did not sign the cheques. I have looked though the Bill Act but can't find answer. I need to know if I can pursue both as although the husband has no assets, the wife does.

We are a small company and are owed money by a customer who has now gone into administration. What can we do? — by Maria Mason — last modified 2008-07-02 14:25

We are a small company and had a customer who owed over £1,000 since October 2007 . We applied to the local Court for a N1 form to get the money back and the company had until April 2008 to reply but they did not. I sent the form to the Court stating this and then I received a letter saying they were in administration. I am not sure now where we stand in this matter, could you please advise me of the next step, if any?

What is the procedure for registering a debenture, what are the time frames in which it must be done and should I seek legal help with this? — by Conrad Murray — last modified 2008-06-15 13:03

What is the procedure for registering a debenture, what are the time frames in which it must be done and should I seek legal help with this?

In what circumstances is it sensible to consider the establishment of a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)? — by Conrad Murray — last modified 2008-06-15 12:38

In what circumstances is it sensible to consider the establishment of a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)?

Set up limited company with a partner who now never turns up for meetings making decision-making impossible: is there any procedure we can follow to deal with this? — by Conrad Murray — last modified 2008-06-15 12:23

I set up a company with a partner which was successful and he has largely left me to it and enjoyed the money he is earning. The problem is that we are the only two shareholders and I can no longer get him to turn up to company meetings so we're increasingly paralysed in that we are unable to pass resolutions. I'm now in a position whereby I would bring in an outsider which would make us both very rich men and also give us the capital to develop the business to the next stage but because he refuses to attend meetings we are inquorate and so nothing can be done. Is there any procedure we can follow to either make him cooperate or bypass the need for him to attend?

If a company is in financial trouble can it sell off some of its assets cheaply to some of the directors' relatives? — by Conrad Murray — last modified 2008-06-15 11:59

If a company is in financial trouble is is possible to transfer some of the assets by selling them cheaply to the some of the directors' relatives?

When forming a company should I draw up special Memorandums and Articles of Incorporation or will the "general" ones offered do? — by Conrad Murray — last modified 2008-06-15 10:48

I am about to register a company at Companies House. Under what circumstances do I need special Memorandums and Articles of Incorporation or will the "general" ones they are offering always do?

I am retiring from business: can I on-sell some genuine business software that I no longer need and if I do can I keep copies for my own use? — by Conrad Murray — last modified 2008-06-15 10:30

I have a large amount of genuine business software which I legally own but no longer need as I have retired. Am I allowed to sell it and if I do can I make copies for my very occasional private use or if I need to open any archived documents for whatever reason?

If a self-employed person owes a large debt, what action can the creditor take against them? — by Maria Mason — last modified 2008-06-13 13:24

If a self-employed person owes a large debt, is there a legal route for the creditor to obtain information on his finances, assets etc in order to determine what action to take against them?

Can I limit my liability in entering into an agreement to supply a product to a customer? — by Conrad Murray — last modified 2008-06-08 18:30

We are a software house and have been asked to produce a product for a government department. There are various penalty clauses regarding delivery and failure but it is a risky project technically and I feel our liabilities should be limited. Is there any way we can achieve this?

Can a competitor register a domain name which is close to mine and use it to steal my customers? — by Conrad Murray — last modified 2008-06-08 18:12

A competitor company of ours which was set up by staff who used to work here had set up a website with an address which is only one letter different to ours and with very similar content showing their products. Can we make them take it down on the grounds that this is an attempt at "passing off"?

Software caused our system to crash meaning we can't access files: does the Sale of Goods Act cover this? — by Conrad Murray — last modified 2008-06-08 17:45

Our network manager has installed some commercially available software on our system which has caused some of our proprietary software to stop working meaning we don't have access to a number of important files. I have spoken to the commercial software house and they say we should have made a backup before we installed their software and they are not responsible for any loss. Does the Sale of Goods Act not apply to computer software companies and in any event do I have grounds to sue them?

Are agreed Heads of Agreement binding if no substantive agreement was ever signed? — by Conrad Murray — last modified 2008-06-08 17:12

We agreed Heads of Agreement with a third party but no final agreement was ever signed. What are the implications? Is the agreement void?

If we use an external company to develop an idea how do we protect it and also ensure we own sole rights? — by Conrad Murray — last modified 2008-06-08 16:57

Our company have had an idea which we need to develop. Implementing it will require us to bring in an external software house to undertake some work. How do we ensure that no details of the idea are passed to third parties and is it also possible to also preserve our rights to the idea as a whole? The software house have previously asserted that they copyright on some processes they have created in undertaking work for us and have in the past said they only provide it under licence. How can I demand that the work done is wholly our idea not there's and can be sold on without paying them any royalty - even a token one?

I have invented a business process which could save my employers money: am I required to disclose it to them? — by Conrad Murray — last modified 2008-06-08 16:12

I have had an idea for a business process at my firm which I believe could save them a massive amount of money and which may enable them to sell it to other companies who could equally benefit. I am a relatively junior employee and want to protect my idea and financially benefit if possible. Am I required to "give" my idea to my employer? If not how can I preserve my rights to the process?