You’re Not Doing Business in the US…Unless You Are

January 29, 2015May 25, 2016 Mike Burke Jurisdiction, Smart Exporting distribution agreements, doing business in the united states, ireland doing business in the united states, ireland export, ireland exporter, ireland us affiliate, jurisdiction, northern ireland doing business in the united states, northern ireland export, northern ireland exporter, northern ireland us affiliate, risk mitigation, Smart Exporting, US affiliate, us ireland tax treaty, us uk tax treaty

I spoke recently with the owner of an Irish company that sells its products online to purchasers in the US and other countries. The US isn’t a true focus of this company’s expansion efforts, but the US market is a nice added benefit to the company’s revenue stream. They don’t have a US-specific website, but if you go to their order page you can enter a US address for delivery. In discussing their sales efforts, I asked what the company does in terms of US-focused terms/conditions of sale and related agreements. Nothing, I was told, because the company isn’t ‘doing business’ in the United States. In a limited way, that answer is correct. But, that answer also is wrong, and dangerously so. Continue reading →

Practical Due Diligence on Distributors–it is possible!

January 22, 2015May 25, 2016 Mike Burke Distribution Agreements distribution agreements, doing business in the united states, due diligence, ireland doing business in the united states, ireland export, ireland exporter, ireland us affiliate, northern ireland doing business in the united states, northern ireland export, northern ireland exporter, northern ireland us affiliate, risk mitigation, sales agents, US affiliate

If your company is thinking about expanding into the US market, chances are that you’ve considered a distribution arrangement (or something similar) with a US person or entity. You may even have been inundated with offers from ‘eager’ third parties to be your distributor, agent, etc. One frequent question is how can an Irish/NI company gather and analyze enough information about a third party to make a good decision about whether to engage with that person/company. Continue reading →

Protect Your IP (Really)

January 13, 2015May 25, 2016 Mike Burke Intellectual Property, Nondisclosure Agreements counterfeiting, intellectual property, ireland doing business in the united states, ireland export, ireland exporter, ireland us affiliate, NDAs, northern ireland doing business in the united states, northern ireland export, northern ireland exporter, northern ireland us affiliate, risk mitigation, Smart Exporting, trademarks, US affiliate

Every now and then, a non-US company will contact me after they have started US operations…but have not protected their intellectual property here. In some cases, the company does not have a full picture of what they have or where they could/should protect it—they have not audited what they have. Continue reading →

Irish Export Insights

Practical Guidance for Irish and Northern Irish Companies on Doing Business in the U.S.

risk mitigation

You’re Not Doing Business in the US…Unless You Are

Practical Due Diligence on Distributors–it is possible!

Protect Your IP (Really)

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