This article uses the term “partnership” as most people would use the word when speaking to one another. When two or more people, or two or more groups of people, pool their resources together and collaborate to achieve a common purpose, it is fair and accurate to call them “partners.” From a legal sense, however, the term “partnership” is a term of art—when lawyers describe two entities as “partners,” they are speaking about a particular type of legal arrangement. From a lawyer’s perspective, a “partnership” is a complex interaction of business law, tax law, and the rules of intellectual property.
Still, for all the legal complexity that often comes with forging partnerships, maintaining them, and amicably parting ways, there are a few basic steps that every nonprofit can take to better understand the law of partnerships. This article lays out some basic terminology, then explains the tax and intellectual property implications involved in forming partnerships. It concludes by highlighting provisions that should be included in every partnership agreement, no matter what the technical form of the relationship.
I. Terminology
Strictly speaking, a “partnership” is an unincorporated business organization created by contract between two or more entities in order to carry out a common enterprise. Each partner contributes money, property, labor, or skill, and expects to share in the profits and losses of the undertaking. Generally speaking, a partnership does not pay income taxes; instead, the individual partners report their share of the partnership’s profits or losses on their individual tax returns.
Within this legal definition, there are several categories of partnership, each with its own balance of management rights and personal liability. There are also several forms of cooperation that fall short of the technical definition of “partnership,” but are nonetheless advantageous to nonprofits not yet ready to commit to a long-term relationship with another entity.
A. General Partnership
In a general partnership, each partner shares equal rights and responsibilities in connection with the management of the partnership, and any partner has the authority to bind the entire partnership to a legal obligation. Unlike shareholders in a corporation, the members of a general partnership are personally liable for all of the partnership’s debts and obligations. That amount of personal liability is often daunting, but it comes with a significant tax advantage: partnership profits are not taxed to the business. Instead, profits pass through to the partners, who include the gains on their individual tax returns.
B. Limited Partnership
In a limited partnership, partners are divided into two classes—general partners and limited partners. The personal liability of a limited partner is limited to the amount he or she has actually invested in the partnership; as a trade-off, however, limited partners are not permitted to participate in management decisions. At least one partner in a limited partnership must be a general partner. General partners retain the right to control and manage the limited partnership, but assume full personal liability for the partnership’s debts and obligations.
C. Limited Liability Partnership
In a limited liability partnership (“LLP”), all partners may directly participate in the management of the partnership and are granted some protection from the partnership’s liability—although the extent of that protection varies from state to state. Some states tax limited liability partnerships as corporations, although they are considered partnerships under federal law. Many states also make the LLP available only to certain professional businesses—e.g., law and accounting firms—and mandate that LLPs adhere to specific filing requirements.
D. Limited Liability Company
A limited liability company (“LLC”) is a relatively new type of business structure created by state statute. Unlike general partnerships, which were developed over time by case law and require no formal documentation for creation, LLCs are created by filing a document (usually referred to as “Articles of Organization”) with the state. LLC owners (called “members”) are not personally liable for the debts and obligations of the LLC. In most cases, an LLC will be taxed like a general partnership—that is, the LLC itself will not be taxed, and the individual members will report their share of profits and losses on their individual tax returns. An LLC may, however, elect to be taxed as a corporation.
E. Joint Venture
A joint venture is an enterprise jointly undertaken by two or more entities for the limited purpose of carrying out a single transaction or isolated project. Unlike a partnership agreement, which creates a new entity and anticipates a long-term and continuous relationship, a joint venture usually ends once the limited purpose of the joint venture is complete. A joint venture can be structured like a general or limited partnership or an LLC, although LLCs are often preferred because of the additional liability protection and tax advantages. Similarly, joint ventures can be structured with an increasingly overlapping set of commitments between the parties and an eye towards eventually entering a more formal relationship. In any event, a well-structured joint venture will be codified in a written agreement that details the precise obligations and allocation of risk between the parties involved.
In a whole joint venture, one or more of the partnering entities contributes all of its assets to the enterprise. Nonprofit organizations more commonly engage in ancillary joint ventures. Ancillary joint ventures are essentially small-scale joint ventures—enterprises that do not become the primary purpose of the organizations involved. Organizations typically engage in ancillary joint ventures for a limited duration, and memorialize the terms of their arrangement in a written agreement. For example, nonprofits may enter into an arrangement with another organization to host a convention, publish a newsletter, or provide a series of educational programs. Tax-exempt organizations seeking additional sources of revenue also may enter into ancillary joint ventures with for-profit corporations, as long as doing so furthers the tax-exempt organization’s purposes and the tax-exempt organization retains ultimate control over the underlying activity. Nonprofits often create new entities from which to undertake the joint venture. Depending upon the nature of the activity contemplated, such an organization may or may not be eligible for tax-exempt status.
Joint membership programs allow individuals to join two nonprofits typically, for a reduced fee. These initiatives allow the members of one organization to become more familiar with another, and are typically conducted in the context of other jointly-run programs and activities. Again, programs in this vein are designed to bring nonprofits closer together, often as a precursor to a more formal alliance, but allowing the entities to tinker with the arrangement or disengage altogether if circumstances or expectations change.
F. Independent Contractor Relationships
An independent contract relationship is an agreement between two or more entities for the provision of goods or services under the terms specified in the agreement. For the most part, independent contractors are defined by the IRS’s “facts and circumstances” test. For instance, if the nonprofit hiring the contractor has the right to control or direct the result of the work, but not the means of accomplishing the work, then this will be a factor in favor of characterizing the arrangement as an independent contractor relationship. Otherwise, the contractor may be treated as an employee of the nonprofit, whose earnings are subject to withholding for employment tax purposes. The employee also may be eligible for employee benefits from the nonprofit, among other significant implications.
G. Commercial Co-Venture
A commercial co-venture (sometimes referred to as a “charitable sales promotion”) generally consists of an arrangement between a charitable organization and a for-profit entity that otherwise engages in a trade or business. In most cases, the for-profit entity agrees to promote the sale of a product or service and represents that part of the sales proceeds will benefit a charitable organization or charitable purpose. Commercial co-ventures generally resemble independent contractor relationships more than partnerships, LLCs or joint ventures.
Commercial co-ventures are a relatively new idea, and the body of law addressing them is still developing. Presently, 24 states expressly regulate commercial co-ventures. Although none of these states require the commercial co-venture to form a separate business entity, many do require that both the for-profit corporation and the charitable organization file a written contract with the state before engaging in any sales or charitable solicitations.
II. Tax Issues for Tax-Exempt Organizations1
Because the terms of a partnership often implicate the tax-exempt purposes of an organization, tax-exempt entities must be mindful of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) and the conditions of tax-exempt recognition. This section discusses four central tax concepts for nonprofits to consider before signing any partnership agreement: unrelated business income tax, control by the tax-exempt organization, private inurement and private benefit, and compliance with state charitable solicitation laws.
A. Unrelated Business Income Tax
In general, tax-exempt organizations are exempt from federal taxes on income derived from activities that are substantially related to the organization’s exempt purpose. A tax-exempt organization may still be subject to unrelated business income tax (“UBIT”). UBIT is a federal income tax imposed on tax-exempt organizations for income derived from a trade or business that is carried on regularly, but is not substantially related to the organization’s exempt purposes. This tax is generally imposed at the federal corporate income tax rates.
For the purposes of determining UBIT, an activity is considered a “trade or business” where it is carried on for the production of income from the sale of goods or performance of services. Income from a passive activity—i.e., an activity in which the exempt organization allows another entity to use its assets, for which the organization receives some payment—is not considered a business. The IRC specifically excludes certain types of passive income from UBIT—dividends, interest, annuities, royalties, certain capital gains, and rents from non-debt financed real property. UBIT also does not include income generated from volunteer labor, qualified corporate sponsorship payments, or qualified convention or trade show income.
In determining whether an activity is “regularly carried on,” the IRS will examine: (1) the frequency and continuity with which the activity is conducted; and (2) the manner in which it is pursued. These factors will be compared with the same or similar business activity of non-exempt organizations. Discontinuous or periodic activities are generally not considered “regularly carried on,” and generally do not result in UBIT.
An activity that is substantially related to an organization’s tax-exempt purposes will not be subject to UBIT. A “substantially related” activity contributes directly to the accomplishment of one or more of the organization’s exempt purposes. Alone, the need to generate income so that the organization can accomplish other goals is not considered a tax-exempt purpose.
In the context of trade and professional associations, for example, an activity is “substantially related” if it is directed toward the improvement of its members’ overall business conditions. Particular services performed to benefit individual members, although often helpful to their individual businesses, usually results in UBIT to the association where those services do not improve the business conditions of the industry overall.
UBIT is even a consideration where a partnership is formed by two otherwise tax-exempt organizations. To the extent that the activities of a partnership do not further the exempt purposes of either organization, income from the partnership may be subject to UBIT. Notably, if two tax-exempt entities form an LLC operated exclusively for exempt purposes and consisting solely of exempt members, the LLC itself may seek exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRC. Accordingly, if such exemption is recognized by the IRS, the income of the LLC would not be subject to tax. In contrast, the IRS will not grant general or limited partnerships exempt status, even if all of the partners thereof are exempt organizations.
Under the UBIT rules, deductions are permitted for expenses that are “directly connected” with the carrying on of the unrelated trade or business. If an organization regularly carries on two or more unrelated business activities, its unrelated business taxable income is the total of gross income from all such activities less the total allowable deductions attributable to such activities.
An organization can jeopardize its tax-exempt status if the gross revenue, net income, and/or staff time devoted to unrelated business activities is “substantial” in relation to the organization’s tax-exempt purposes. In an effort to prevent loss of exempt status, many tax-exempt organizations choose to create one or more taxable subsidiaries in which they may house unrelated business activities. Taxable subsidiaries are separate but affiliated organizations. A taxable subsidiary can enter into partnerships and involve itself in for-profit activities without risking the tax-exempt status of its parent. Moreover, the taxable subsidiary can remit the after-tax profits to its parent as tax-free dividends.
B. Control
In a partnership, a nonprofit organization continues to qualify for tax exemption only to the extent that (1) its participation furthers its exempt purposes and (2) the arrangement permits the organization to act exclusively in its own interests and in the furtherance of those exempt purposes. If a tax-exempt entity cedes “control” of partnership activities to a for-profit entity, the IRS will consider the partnership to serve private aims, not public interests.
In a partnership with a for-profit entity that involves all or substantially all of a tax-exempt organization’s assets, the IRS generally requires the tax-exempt organization to retain majority control over the partnership—e.g., a majority vote on the governing board. In a similar arrangement that involves only a portion of the tax-exempt organization’s assets, the IRS has approved a structure in which the for-profit and tax-exempt organizations share most management responsibilities but leave the exempt organization in charge of the exempt aspects of the partnership. Even in a partnership consisting solely of tax-exempt organizations, the management of the partnership must remain with tax-exempt organizations and may not be delegated to for-profit entities.
Nonprofits frequently enter into short-term partnerships with for-profit corporations in order to conduct a particular activity. These ventures should not jeopardize the nonprofit’s tax-exempt status in most cases—even if the nonprofit does not maintain operational control over the venture—because the nonprofit will still carry on substantial tax-exempt activities.
C. Private Inurement and Private Benefit
In general, organizations recognized as tax exempt under Sections 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(6) of the IRC are prohibited from entering into a transaction that results in “private inurement.” Private inurement occurs where a transaction between a tax-exempt organization and an “insider”—i.e., someone with a close relationship with, or an ability to exert substantial influence over, the tax-exempt organization—results in a benefit to the insider that is greater than fair market value. The IRS closely scrutinizes partnerships between tax-exempt organizations and taxable entities to determine whether the activities contravene the prohibitions on private inurement and on excess private benefit (see below).
Private inurement through dealings with tax-exempt organizations can carry with it individual penalties as well. The IRS may levy excise taxes (referred to commonly as “intermediate sanctions”) against “disqualified persons” that receive better-than-fair-market-value in transactions with 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations. A “disqualified person” is any person who is in a position to exercise substantial influence over the tax-exempt organization, or has been in the past five years. Directors, officers, and the immediate family of directors and officers are all disqualified persons, among others.
501(c)(3) organizations also are prohibited from entering into transactions that result in more-than-incidental “private benefit” to another party, including unrelated third parties. Incidental benefits related to an organization’s tax-exempt purposes are not considered private benefits, but the benefits must be both quantitatively and qualitatively incidental. To be quantitatively incidental, the private benefit must be insubstantial when compared to the overall tax-exempt benefit generated by the activity. To be qualitatively incidental, the private benefit must be inextricable from the exempt activity, in that the exempt objectives could not be achieved without necessarily benefitting certain individuals privately.
While the private inurement prohibition and the private benefit doctrine may substantially overlap, the two are distinct requirements which must be independently satisfied.
D. Charitable Solicitation Statutes
Over the last two decades, the vast majority of states and the District of Columbia have enacted and strengthened charitable solicitation statutes, designed to guard against fraudulent or misleading fundraising solicitations. The term “charitable solicitation” generally refers to requests for contributions to a tax-exempt organization or for a charitable purpose. Many state statutes restrict the application of their charitable solicitation statutes to organizations recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3); others apply such statutes to all tax-exempt entities. Solicitations may take many forms, including Internet and telephone appeals, special fund-raising events, and direct-mail campaigns. Any partnership that engages in a charitable solicitation must adhere to the state requirements in each state in which such solicitation occurs.
While the specifics of these statutes vary by state, they generally require tax-exempt organizations to register before soliciting contributions from residents of the state. Registration typically involves providing general information (e.g., name, address, corporate status, purpose, proposed registration activities, tax status, information about officers and directors, etc.) about the tax-exempt organization.
Many states also impose reporting and disclosure requirements. Tax-exempt organizations are typically required to file a report or other financial information with the state on an annual basis. Many states make all or most of these reports and registrations available to the public. Some states also require solicitors to disclose certain information—e.g., the nature of the organization’s activities and the amount of a donation actually designated for charitable purposes—at the request of a prospective donor.
As commercial co-ventures have gained popularity, many states have enacted statutes that specifically address and regulate arrangements between non-profit and for-profit entities. Under these statutes, the for-profit partner may be subject to reporting and accounting requirements to both the tax-exempt organization and the state. Alternatively, states may subject the partners of a commercial co-venture to the registration and bonding requirements usually reserved for professional fundraisers and solicitors.
Failure to comply with charitable solicitation statutes may result in sanctions against the tax-exempt organization, including investigations, revocation of registrations, injunctions, and civil and criminal penalties. Because of the variances in state filing requirement, compliance is often burdensome when nonprofit organizations contemplate solicitation programs that will span several states. This burden is somewhat eased by the fact that 35 states and the District of Columbia have agreed to accept a uniform registration form; however, many of these jurisdictions also require state-specific attachments—e.g., a Form 990, audited financial reports, and/or copies of partnership agreements—to complete the charitable organization’s registration.
III. Protecting Intellectual Property within Partnerships
The various types of partnerships discussed previously all likely will result in the creation of or involve the use of some form of intellectual property. Perhaps a company and a charity partner together to promote a “green” program on each other’s websites. Nonprofits often come together to produce an educational conference, convention or trade show. Several different types of organizations might enter into a partnership to create the definitive publication on best practices in a given field or industry.
These business ventures, and many others, likely involve the development of products or written works, advertising and marketing literature, the sharing of logos and organization names, and/or the use of membership and customer lists to market the program. In addition, business activities like these often require a nonprofit to share its trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights. All of these things constitute intellectual property. When such intellectual property assets are managed poorly, an organization runs the risk of damaging or diluting its rights in its own intellectual property assets and potentially infringing upon the rights of others. If managed properly, these assets can remain protected even as they are used to accomplish the goals of the business venture.
In short, a rudimentary understanding of the basics of trademark, trade secret, and copyright law can go a long way toward giving an organization the flexibility it needs to successfully launch new partnerships and business activities.
A. Trademark Basics
An organization’s name and acronym may be “trademarks” protected by law. By definition, a trademark is any word, phrase, symbol, design, slogan, or tag line (or combination thereof) used by a company, individual or nonprofit to identify the source of a product. A service mark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies the source of a service. A certification mark is a mark used by an authorized third party to indicate that their products or services meet the standards set by the owner of the mark. It is important to note, however, that there are several exceptions that prevent a mark from being a protected trademark under the law, including the fact that the mark is too generic or is a merely descriptive term.
B. Trade Secret Basics
The term “trade secret” is generally defined as information used in a business that provides a competitive advantage to its owner and is maintained in secrecy.2 Almost any type of information, if truly valuable, not readily known in the industry, and properly protected, may constitute a trade secret. Trade secret information might include (1) business information; (2) customer or member lists and related confidential information; (3) procedures, such as employee selection procedures, business methods, standards and specifications, inventory control, and rotation procedures; (4) financial information; (5) advertising and marketing information; (6) processes and methods of manufacture; (7) designs and specifications; and (8) computer software.
C. Copyright Basics
While they often may not realize it, organizations create and use copyrighted works on a regular basis. Under the federal Copyright Act, a copyright automatically vests in the author of a work as soon as the work is fixed in some tangible medium of expression. Essentially, when any entity puts pen to paper and an original work appears, a copyright exists. The copyright may be owned by a single author, or by two or more contributors who are joint authors or co-authors. A “joint work” is one created by two or more authors who intend their contributions to be merged into a single work. As a matter of law, each co-author of a copyrighted work has an independent right to use and exploit the entire work, but must share the profits equally and provide an accounting to the other co-author.
Organizations frequently miss a key copyright principle: the law treats works created by independent contractors and other non-employees differently than works created by an organization’s employees. Materials created by an organization’s employees generally are presumed to be the property of the organization, even absent a written copyright transfer or agreement, thus making the organization the owner of the copyright in such works. However, even if an organization has conceived of the idea for a work, supervised its development, and funded its creation, an independent individual (e.g., an independent contractor or any other non-employee) hired to create a work retains the copyright in that work unless he or she explicitly transfers it back to the organization by way of a written agreement. Even articles and graphics used and reused in the regular publications of a nonprofit may remain the intellectual property of their original creators and owners. If the organization wishes to continue to use such a work, it must obtain permission from the copyright owner and may be required to pay a licensing fee.
D. Preventative Measures
To protect and maximize an organization’s intellectual property rights and avoid infringing upon the intellectual property rights of others, the organization should take the following preventative steps, either on an ongoing basis or in contemplation of a new business venture:
- Register copyrights. Register the content on websites, publications and all other important, original, creative works that are fixed in any print, electronic, audio-visual, or other tangible medium with the U.S. Copyright Office. Although such registration is not required to obtain and maintain a copyright in a work, it is a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit to enforce the rights in such works and it confers other valuable benefits. Copyright registration is generally a simple, inexpensive process that can usually be done without the assistance of legal counsel.
- Register trademarks. Organizations should register their name, logos, slogans, certification marks, and all other important marks with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. While federal registration of marks is not required to obtain and maintain trademark rights, it can be extremely helpful in enforcing and maintaining them. Trademark registration, although a bit more expensive than obtaining copyright registration, is still an affordable process, particularly when one considers that trademarks and service marks generally protect the actual identity of an organization or its brand(s). As a result, the ability to fully enforce an organization’s trademark or service mark rights through registration is paramount.
- Use copyright and trademark notices. Use copyright notices (e.g., “© 2011 Venable LLP. All rights reserved.”) on and in connection with all creative works published by your organization, and trademark notices on and in connection with all trademarks, service marks, and certification marks owned and used by your organization (e.g., “TM” for non-registered marks and “®” for federally registered marks). While copyright and trademark notices are not required, their effective use can significantly enhance intellectual property rights, including putting others on notice as to their protection and preventing others from asserting the defense of “innocent infringement.”
- Verify ownership and permission to use all intellectual property. An organization should ensure that it owns all intellectual property or has appropriate permission to use all intellectual property belonging to third parties that appears in its publications, on its website and in any other media, and should maintain and update such permissions on a regular basis. It is notable that, generally speaking, more copyright problems arise in this area than any other. If an organization discovers that it does not own intellectual property that it seeks to use as part of a partnership or business venture, it may be required to obtain permission from and pay a licensing fee to the owner of the work in order to make lawful use of the work.
- Police use of your intellectual property. Police the use of your copyrights and trademarks by others and enforce your rights where necessary. Trademark law requires the owner of a trademark or service mark to take measures to enforce its rights in such trademarks or service marks. An organization may use periodic web searches, outside watch service vendors, or other means to do so. Enforcement does not necessarily involve the filing of a lawsuit.
E. Contractual Protections
It cannot be emphasized enough that organizations entering into a business venture should memorialize their arrangement in a written contract. Among the other issues discussed in this article, a written agreement will ensure that the ownership rights (or at least sufficient license rights) to all intellectual property created under the agreement are apportioned among the business partners as they intend. If ownership of works is not spelled out in an agreement, the default copyright laws discussed above will apply, among others. The following are key issues that partnering organizations should address in their written agreements:
- Ensure confidentiality—either up-front or in the partnership contract. Potential business partners should enter into a written confidentiality agreement up-front—while they are ironing out the business terms—to protect the tentative deal, trade secrets, and any other intellectual or proprietary property revealed through the process of negotiations and due diligence investigations. Alternatively, the parties can address confidentiality in the comprehensive written contract that outlines their business venture.
- Include an intellectual property license. Any time an organization allows any other individual or entity—be they members, affiliated entities, or business partners—to use its trademark, service marks, name, logos, copyrighted works, other intellectual property, or proprietary information (such as names, addresses, and other contact information contained in its membership or customer directory or list), it is licensing those rights to the other party. The terms and conditions of such a license should be in writing and the writing should include certain provisions regarding the policing of the use of such intellectual property by others.
The license of an organization’s intellectual property to the other partner generally should be limited solely to the scope and purpose of the business venture contemplated under the agreement, and should cease immediately upon termination. The owning partner should explicitly retain all key copyright, trademark, patent, and domain name rights created under the agreement; retain its ownership and control of the “look and feel” of any of its content used on a website; retain quality control over the use of any trademark, service mark, name, logo, or other indicator of source of any product or service; restrict the use of its name, logo and membership list; obtain confidentiality and security assurances regarding the use of its customer or membership data and other information; and obtain a warranty by the licensee partner that it will use no infringing or otherwise illegal material in connection with its use of the owning partner’s intellectual property.
- Minimize liability risk through representations and warranties. An effective contract will include sufficient representations and warranties that each partner’s intellectual property, software, website, and other elements that it brings to the venture do not infringe any intellectual property or other rights of third parties, do not violate any applicable laws and regulations, and that each partner will perform as promised.
- Spell out rights upon termination. While the parties may intend for their brilliantly-conceived business venture to continue forever, even the best plans end or change. Thus, one of the most important issues to address in advance in the original written contract is what happens to each party’s intellectual property assets upon termination. Joint authors who formerly shared all rights, expenses and revenues may want to buy one another out upon termination, or ensure that the other party cannot use or alter their joint work once they part ways. Partner organizations should consider whether derivative works can be created after termination, and if so, to what extent. The key is for partners to think ahead about what assets they expect to keep or to gain, what rights they wish to protect, and how to enforce those rights at and after termination. In certain cases, a written agreement may be required to alter the statutory default provisions that govern ownership rights related to these types of considerations.
- Maintain agreements with contractors, authors and speakers. Partnering organizations also should maintain written contracts with any contractors and non-employee authors and speakers utilized under their business plan. If the ownership of works is not spelled out in a written agreement, the default copyright rule generally will apply, i.e., the person who creates the work is the one who owns it, regardless of who conceived of or paid for the work. An exception to that general rule is represented in the work-made-for-hire doctrine. If a work qualifies as a “work-made-for-hire” under the law, the entity commissioning the work is considered its author and is the copyright owner, not the individual who created the work.3 This area of the law is complex and many works may not qualify under the word-made-for-hire doctrine (the doctrine is only applicable to certain limited, expressly-defined categories of works). Among other requirements, in order for a work to be considered a work-made-for-hire, a written agreement reflecting such status is necessary.
A written agreement with any non-employees should contain a section that provides that (1) works created pursuant to the agreement are “works-made-for-hire;” (2) to the extent a work is not a work-made-for-hire under the statute, the non-employee author, creator or speaker assigns the copyright to the organization; and (3) in the event that the non-employee will not agree to assign its work to the organization, the non-employee grants the organization a broad, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and exclusive license to the work in any manner in the future.
IV. Issues to Consider before Signing the Agreement
After considering the relevant tax and intellectual property issues and choosing the appropriate legal structure for the partnership envisioned, a nonprofit’s staff must delve into the specific details. No partnership agreement is complete without taking certain matters under consideration:
- Due Diligence and Quality Control: Before entering into any partnership agreement, a nonprofit should become familiar with its potential partner. Nonprofit leadership is obligated to exercise due diligence on this front, and nonprofit staff should be prepared to check references and review key legal, financial, corporate, and insurance documents. Avoiding negligence in the selection process—and on an ongoing basis—is key to avoiding liability for the errors and omissions of a partner.
- Confidentiality: While not essential, it often is prudent for a nonprofit to enter into a confidentiality agreement with a potential partner prior to beginning negotiations over the partnership agreement. Such an agreement can help ensure that the nonprofit will not be damaged or put at a competitive disadvantage by the disclosure or improper use of sensitive information or documents.
- Intellectual Property: Engaging in a business venture with another entity almost always involves the use of one another’s intellectual property and frequently the creation of new works. Each organization should include a license to its intellectual property that limits the other partner’s use of that property solely to the purposes of the partnership. An organization must preserve the right to maintain quality control over any use of its trademarks, service marks, name, logos, or any other indicator of the source of a product or service. Both partners should address who will own any works created by the partnership—both while it exists and after it terminates—as well as the rights to share in revenue related to such works and the right to create derivative works based on such works.
- Choosing the Right Form: As discussed above, each form of partnership has its own liability and tax considerations. Be specific. For example, an agreement to enter into a joint venture should state so explicitly. An agreement that represents a limited, one-time arrangement should contain a clause that states that is the intention of the parties that it be a limited, one-time arrangement.
- Comply with Tax-Exemption Requirements: As previously noted, tax-exempt organizations have to abide by special tax rules in order to maintain their tax-exempt status. A nonprofit’s tax-exempt status is preserved by continuously monitoring the amount of the resources devoted to a partnership that generates unrelated business income, as well as limiting the unrelated business income itself. The agreement should state that the tax-exempt entity, at the very least, maintains control over the tax-exempt purposes and activities of the partnership.
- Performance Obligations and Performance Standards: A partnership agreement must be clear about the precise obligations of each partner, and should err on the side of being too specific. Partners should be required to perform with high standards of quality, professionalism and expertise, and the agreement should contemplate adverse consequences for a party that fails to satisfy these standards.
- Timeline: Any time constraints should be stated in the agreement. The phrase “time is of the essence” may be used to prevent late performance.
- Indemnification: Most partnership agreements contain an indemnification clause. The basic obligation is that if one partner’s negligence or misconduct causes another partner to be sued by a third person, then the party at fault is responsible for any expenses resulting from the suit, including judgments, damages, settlements, and attorney’s fees and court costs.
- Antitrust Compliance: Any provision that fixes prices, limits competition, allows for the exchange of competitively-sensitive information, attempts to set industry standards, restricts membership in a nonprofit, limits access to particular products or services, limits the production of particular products or services, or attempts to restrict who may do business with whom in an industry, likely is suspect to scrutiny under federal and state antitrust laws. While not necessarily illegal, extreme care and prudence should be exercised. If the agreement implicates any of these—or otherwise limits competition in any way—consult with legal counsel before proceeding.
- Representations and Warranties: Every party to a partnership agreement should be willing to make certain basic guarantees (often called representations and warranties)—to respect the rights of third parties, to follow all applicable laws and regulations, to sign the agreement only if actually authorized to do so, and to perform all obligations in good faith and fair dealing. Many partnership agreements also spell out particular consequences for breach of these guarantees.
- Term, Termination and Transition: All good partnership agreements contemplate an exit strategy at every stage of the enterprise. A solid agreement will spell out the initial term of the contract, whether and how the term will automatically renew, and when and how the agreement may be terminated. Unless the agreement specifies otherwise, the law generally will permit a partner to assign its rights and obligations under the partnership agreement to any third party, as well as to terminate the agreement at any time for any reason. Nonprofits can avoid costly disputes at the end of a relationship by deciding, up front, which partners will take which assets with them when they leave the partnership, or at least specifying a process for making such determinations.
This list is by no means exclusive. All partnership agreements should be in writing and generally should be reviewed by legal counsel.
* * * * *
This article is not intended to provide legal advice or opinion and should not be relied on as such. Legal advice can only be provided in response to a specific fact situation.