What are my rights in pursue a business opportunities stemming from a joint venture?

If you do not have an agreement with the local artist you would have no right to move forward on your own since you would be using his product and he could always come after you and file a suit against you for stealing his product. I would also be careful about getting involved in a product that uses copyrighted material and ideas without getting licenses from the owners of the copyright. If you are determined to proceed you should try to reach an agreement with him for the use of his product and idea. There is no way you can go ahead on your own without his participation. He might be willing to sell you the right to develop his idea commercially if he is unwilling to work with you and this might be what you should do.

No run away from this "deal." He's using illegal trademarks and you could lose your money (confiscation, lawsuits, fines, etc.). He'll lose nothing. You'll lose everything. What kind of a business opportunity is that?

You cannot force another person to go into business with you nor would you want to. It sounds like he is no where near as interested in the project as you are. You should keep your information to yourself and not share it with him until he is ready to commit to a business partnership. However, if he willing to act in an illegal manner, do you really want to become involved with him.

1. A joint venturer cannot exploit for himself an opportunity for the joint venture, unless the other joint venturer(s) clearly, unambiguously, and permanently renounce their interest in that opportunity. If possible, that should be in writing, so there is no question. Appropriating an opportunity of a joint venturer is a serious breach of fiduciary responsibilities. It is not clear if a joint venture exists between you and the local artist but discretion is the better part of valor here. 2. In any event, there is a more important issue at hand. My understanding is that your business idea rests on the infringement of intellectual property of various sports franchises. If my understanding is correct, I would strongly recommend that you substantially modify your business idea to avoid this infringement. If you are infringing the intellectual property rights of others, you could be sued and an order issued against you that will block you from manufacturing items that infringe upon those rights, among other things. You could also be liable in monetary damages. At a minimum, the products you manufacture must be free of any intellectual property infringement issues. 3. If you decide to proceed, I strongly suggest you get competent business counsel to help you work through the joint venture and intellectual properties here. This could be extremely risky for you. Quoting Question From LawQA : ANSWER A QUESTION THAT WILL BE DISPLAYED ON CALIFORNIA EMPLOYMENT WEBSITES ON THE LAWQA NETWORK. LAW AREA: EMPLOYMENT STATE: CALIFORNIA ID:73103 Question: What are my rights in pursue a business opportunities stemming from a joint venture? Question Detail: A local artist has a product that he makes, markets and sells which includes the illegal use of sports copyrights, insignias and trademarks. He makes and markets them on a small scale due to that fact that they are handmade and the illegal use of the sports copyrights. I approached him about researching and developing the product for the mass market. From researching/developing the new manufacturing process, copyright and licensing, sourcing product/ manufacturing vendors, to having prototypes made, to making signicant business contacts for distribution and marketing channels, I have compiled an impressive business model and package. I feel he is still hesitant because of financing and possibly isn't as committed as I am, but I don't wan to/won't hand over or walk away from my efforts. We have no formal business arrangements, he also has not made any strides to pursue these options, licenses and to safeguard these ideas on his own, but I am ready to. What are my rights about moving forward on my own behalf to make sure I take advantage of time sensitive opportunities.

This was submitted to me as an EMPLOYMENT question. This question does not involve EMPLOYMENT law, and should be resubmitted to another.

You have no contract with him and it sounds like his ideas are not protected. Ethically, you should probably talk to him and tell him about your ideas and if he does not want to participate, then move forward without him, but from what you've set forth below, I do not think you have any legal obligation to him. If there is more information or you entered into agreements you did not identify, then my answer may change.

I am concerned about use of trademarked or copywrighted materials in your business. If you have not paid the proper royalties for access to that material, you are violating the law. I would address those issues first.