Best corporate structure for two separate but symbiotic B2B entities?

(I'm a small biz attorney who helps people with copyright, trademark, and other IP law, and I'm answering per U.S. law.) As soon as you take your idea and put it into a tangible format (write it down, create an infographic, record a video), then that writing/infographic/video is automatically protected by copyright law. You can record the copyright on it too, which makes it easier to protect and get damages from other people taking it. But the formula itself would be probably protected under trade secret law or patent law. Patent law obviously takes a bit more effort, because you have to apply for the patent and get your application examined by the USPTO, which takes years and $$$. Keeping it protected under trade secret law means you have to make an effort to keep it secret (which may not work if you are disclosing it as part of your marketing efforts), such as keeping it confidential and requiring NDAs. As someone else said, the other terms you use might be protected under trademark law. If a member of the public would use those terms to link your products/services with the source of the product/service (aka, your company), then they could be trademark-able. There are some state law protections for trademarks, and you can also file to register the trademark with the USPTO and get more protection. Hope that gets your started!

Yes. For USA based businesses – we consult on everything from conceptualization to completion, including federal, state, and local laws/regulations, etc. We even provide referrals for Branding (Logo/Product Packaging, etc.), Website Building & Security, SEO, Google Search, etc. If you know what you want to sell (and it is not prohibited by law), we are able to provide clarity to have you up and running within 30-days on average.

I'll keep try to keep this answer brief, but there are several factors and nuances that can be discussed in more depth. Where you decide to incorporate partly depends on what your future goals are with your company. Companies that plan to seek venture capital or go public typically choose Delaware as the state of incorporation, and usually choose a C-Corp. Delaware has a very well developed body of law surrounding corporate governance and that provides comfort and more certainty to future VC investors. If you're not planning to seek VC money any time soon, an LLC is a smart decision because of the tax benefits it can provide to you as the owner. It sounds like you want to grow your company on your own without outside financing. If that's the case, I would recommend forming your LLC in California. Regarding California vs. Delaware, one benefit to forming your LLC in California is that you can avoid paying a registered agent fee which can cost anywhere from $100-200 a year. If you plan to seek venture capital down the road, you can reincorporate in Delaware.

From a legal standpoint: an NDA is an agreement - something contractual, and therefore is not limited (by law) to any specific jurisdiction. So, you can select Delaware or California, or India for that matter. From the business aspect, the best jurisdiction to select would depend on: 1. Jurisdictions that are known to be 'friendly' to your type of business. 2. Jurisdictions in which your lawyer is licensed to practice / the cost of lawyers isn't too expensive. 3. Somewhere not to far from where you are physically located - in case you actually have to go to court. Lastly, best to add a required arbitration or mediation clause if you don't have one. Good luck

More of a political answer than anything to be honest. Laws are created by politicians, politicians make their decisions based on lobbyists & public opinion. Lobbyists and public opinion can both be bought. One person only has one vote, a company can persuade millions of votes. Imagine what would happen if Facebook (or Reddit) put a tiny icon that say "Vote ________ for president", how many people that would influence to vote. Businesses are what influence & create laws in the end. Even your personal opinions come from businesses. Is it something you read in a book? Author makes money, textbook makes money. Read it on the internet? The website makes money. Learned it in school? University makes money, professor makes money. A business that is breaking a law is really just fighting the status quo of the established businesses, which might be why often new businesses think or might assume they need to do something illegal to get ahead. While established businesses such as Comcast or Facebook can break laws and it be "legal" (because they do it in the right way of course). But no, entrepreneurs don't need to do illegal things and break the law. Pick a business model, any business model, and then do it better.