Dear Rich: I am getting ready to obtain written permission to use portions of books on a website I'll be creating. If the permission is obtained by me personally and then I form an LLC or corporation, do I need to go back and get permission again, or is the permission granted to me under my personal name enough? I'm so glad you asked. The short answer to your question is that you probably don't need to get a second set of permissions. Unless your permission agreement prohibits assignment or transfer of rights, you can transfer your permissions when you convert your sole proprietorship to an LLC or corporation (or any other business entity). (The Dear Rich staff reports that most of the agreements in Getting Permission permit this type of transfer). If your permisson agreement prohibits transfer or assignment, you need to read the fine print -- for example, some provisions permit transfer if it is to an entity owned by one of the parties but not to anyone else. Other provisions require that you go back to the other party and get an okay for the transfer.
Mar 11, 2009
