Guides

• How to review a contract the other side sent you A practical method for reading a counterparty's contract in order of risk, what each clause is really doing, and when to involve a lawyer.
• Provisional patents for AI and semiconductor founders What a US provisional application does, why most cheap ones protect nothing, how it fits with filings in Japan, Taiwan and Singapore, and the deadlines that follow.
• Copyright registration: where it exists and where it does not Which of the ten LegalMatrix jurisdictions have a copyright registry, what registration gives you there, and how to prove ownership in the countries without one.
• Shareholders' agreements for family companies What a family company's shareholders' agreement must settle that a founder or investor agreement does not: control, succession, family employment, dividends and exits.
• Giving a successor equity The ways a founder can give a successor a stake, from gifts of shares to options and growth shares, and the documents and approvals each route needs across the LegalMatrix jurisdictions.
• ESOP across borders How to run one employee option plan for staff in several countries: parent plan and sub-plans, securities exemptions, tax-advantaged routes and the approvals each jurisdiction needs.
• IP ownership in AI projects Who owns the model, the data, the code and the outputs in an AI project, where ownership leaks, and the assignment and licence documents that close the gaps.
• Trade mark strategy for Asian brands going global A filing strategy for brands born in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan or Taiwan expanding west: where to file first, Madrid versus national routes, scripts and transliterations, and timing.
• E-signature validity by jurisdiction Which documents can be signed electronically in each of the ten LegalMatrix jurisdictions, which cannot, and the statutes behind the answer.
• Non-compete enforceability compared How each of the ten LegalMatrix jurisdictions treats post-employment non-competes, from California's ban and Ontario's prohibition to Taiwan's paid-compensation rule, and what to use instead.
• Distribution agreements in Asia How to structure distribution and agency agreements for Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan: exclusivity, minimums, brand control, termination and the local rules that override the contract.
• Intercompany agreements and transfer pricing documentation How signed intercompany agreements and transfer pricing files fit together, what each should contain, and the sequence for a group putting both in place (structure only, not tax advice).
• Trusts versus holding companies for families What a trust does that a holding company cannot, and vice versa, which LegalMatrix jurisdictions recognise private trusts, and how families combine the two.

SGSingapore

• Contracts and company law essentials in Singapore How Singapore contract, company, employment and trade mark law shape the documents a company needs, from e-signature rules to share transfers and option plans.

HKHong Kong

• Contracts and company law essentials in Hong Kong The rules that shape Hong Kong contracts, company documents, employment terms and trade marks, including the e-signature exclusions and stamp duty steps that catch groups out.

JPJapan

• Contracts and company law essentials in Japan What foreign groups need to know about Japanese contracts, the Companies Act, seals and e-signatures, employment protections and the JPO before they sign anything.

TWTaiwan

• Contracts and company law essentials in Taiwan Taiwan's Company Act vehicles, investment review, chops and the 2024 Electronic Signatures Act, Labor Standards Act notice and non-compete conditions, and TIPO trade marks.

USUnited States

• Contracts and company law essentials in the United States Delaware corporate law, California employment rules, ESIGN and UETA, the USPTO's use-based system and the equity mechanics every foreign-owned US company needs to get right.

CACanada

• Contracts and company law essentials in Canada Federal and provincial layers of Canadian law for contracts, CBCA, BC and Ontario corporations, employment standards, the Ontario non-compete ban and CIPO trade marks.

AUAustralia

• Contracts and company law essentials in Australia The Corporations Act, electronic execution, unfair contract terms, Fair Work notice rules, the proposed non-compete ban, the ESS regime and IP Australia trade marks in one guide.

NZNew Zealand

• Contracts and company law essentials in New Zealand The Contract and Commercial Law Act, Companies Act 1993 duties, 90-day trial periods, restraint of trade rules and IPONZ trade marks explained for companies setting up in New Zealand.

UKUnited Kingdom

• Contracts and company law essentials in the United Kingdom English law contracts, Companies Act 2006 duties and approvals, e-signature and deed rules, statutory notice, the non-compete debate, EMI options and the UK IPO's 2026 fees.

MTMalta

• Contracts and company law essentials in Malta Maltese contract formalities, the Companies Act, duty on share transfers, EIRA probation and notice rules, and the choice between a Maltese national trade mark and an EU trade mark.