In law, a company refers to a legal entity formed which has a separate legal identity from its members, and is ordinarily incorporated to undertake commercial business. Although some jurisdictions refer to unincorporated entities as companies, in most jurisdictions the term refers only to incorporated entities. It has been judicially remarked that "the word company has no strictly legal meaning",Re Stanley ^* 1 Ch 131 at 134 but is taken to mean a specific form of entity created under the laws of the relevant jurisdiction. Because of the limited liability of the members of the company for the company's debts and the separate personality and tax treatment of the company, it has become the most popular form of business vehicle in most countries in the world.

Lacking a concise definition of their own, companies are often defined by reference to what they are not. Companies are separate and distinct from:

• sole traders
• partnerships
• trusts, although conceptually trustees managing a trust fund for the benefit of beneficiaries is in many ways similar to the directors managing the company's assets for the benefit of the shareholders.
• guilds
• unincorporated associations of persons, or clubs

Modern companies are generally formed for one of three purposes:

• non-profit companies, formed for social, charitable or quasi-charitable purposes to provide the sponsors with the benefit of limited liability and to form an administratively convenient mechanisms for the administration of the organization.
• small business companies, usually formed by either sole traders or partners to take advantage of limited liability and (sometimes) as a means of tax avoidance, whilst still retaining overall control in the hands of the founders.
• public investment companies, formed to enable members of the public to invest in a business or enterprise without actually becoming involved in the running of it (which is left to the board of directors).

More on [ Company (law) ]

L.A. Times - Technology News

A climate change dust-up
Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800
One side sees hacked e-mail as a sign of a 'Warmist Conspiracy.' The other says it's being taken out of context. Analysts don't expect it to have much effect on the Senate greenhouse gas bill. Is it a "Warmist Conspiracy," or a case of an e-mail being "taken completely out of context"?
Google gives public a peek at Chrome OS
Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800
Google Inc.'s new Chrome operating system, which is designed to bypass computer hard drives and work totally by way of an Internet connection, got its first public preview Thursday.
The danger of marketing prescription drugs online
Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800
If pharmaceutical companies are allowed to send abbreviated pitches, they'll emphasize the benefits of their medications and send consumers elsewhere to find out the risks. Google, Yahoo and the pharmaceutical industry are pushing to change how prescription drugs are hawked online. That's not a bad thing necessarily.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 video game gets Hollywood-scale launch
Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800
Activision Blizzard's marketing and publicity campaign has featured all of the trappings of a modern movie effort, a further sign that the two businesses are coming to rival each other in popularity. On a cloudy Friday afternoon on Venice Boulevard in West Los Angeles nearly two weeks ago, about 50 people were waiting to buy a video game that wasn't supposed to go on sale for four days.
Congress is cracking down on Internet marketing companies
Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800
Legislation targets unethical, aggressive sales tactics that result in countless 'mystery charges' for consumers. A Senate probe focused on online marketing firms Affinion, Vertrue and Webloyalty. Linda Lindquist was in Atlanta, where she had taken her 19-year-old daughter for therapy after a skiing accident left her a quadriplegic, when she decided to treat the teenager to a movie.
Cal Poly Pomona discloses online security breach
Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:19:00 -0800
Personal information on up to 355 applicants to the school in 2003, including Social Security numbers, was potentially accessible online until recently, the school says. The Social Security numbers, home addresses and phone contacts for at least 300 students who applied for admission to Cal Poly Pomona six years ago were unintentionally disclosed online, according to the university.

Googling Google

GrandCentral closing up shop
Garett Rogers Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:52:28 -0000
The service Google snatched up in 2007 that lets users attach multiple phones to a single phone number is officially closing its doors on December 31st this year. An email went out to users of the service stating Google’s intentions to close the doors on GrandCentral.com. No big deal though, because Google Voice is GrandCentral’s [...]
Chrome OS will give Microsoft a run for their money
Garett Rogers Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:13:30 -0000
Ballmer just laughs off the operating system being developed by Google (and now the open source community), but you can't deny that Google's lined up to hit a home run.
Google Image Swirl: Looks neat, but useless
Garett Rogers Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:14:21 -0000
I have a problem with things like Google Image Swirl. Not the offering itself, just the strange notion that somehow cool design equals usefulness. There are tons of examples floating around that have the exact same problem — things like Bing’s “Visual Search”. I’m the lead software designer at the company I work for [...] [Sponsored] NEC   Ads by Pheedo
Is imminent Chrome OS launch reckless?
Garett Rogers Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:39:27 -0000
It sounds like Google will be releasing an early version of their Chrome OS sometime this week -- that leads us to a question of whether anybody will use the new operating system, and if they do, will they like it?
Google can be your alibi
Garett Rogers Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:14:50 -0000
Wrongly accused? Got no alibi? If you turn a new feature released today, Google Latitude lets you retrace your footsteps — complete with timestamps. The fact that you can now re-play your life is a bit creepy, but it’s your choice if you want to enable it or not. In addition to this [...]
Google gives you movie showtimes in a fraction of a second
Garett Rogers Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:54:44 -0000
Google just announced some updates to their feature that lets you get movie times for movies playing in theaters near you. This feature isn’t exactly new, but they have made some pretty great enhancements that make it even better. Search for a movie that you want to see right in the familiar Google search box. [...]

Computer Companies - Google News

Does Second-Hand Smoke Really Void Apple's Warranty? - PC World
ElectricPig.tvDoes Second-Hand Smoke Really Void Apple's Warranty?PC WorldOnly the gloves and a set of tools from inside the box touch the computer. If something along this line is good enough for smallpox and Ebola, ...Should smoking void your warranty?Sydney Morning Heraldall 73 news articles »
A Translator Tool With a Human Touch - New York Times
A Translator Tool With a Human TouchNew York Times... and, more significantly, allow the computer to learn what it has been doing wrong. To that end, the company is extracting and organizing contributions ...and more »
Program to help truckers attracts drug smugglers - The Associated Press
The Associated PressProgram to help truckers attracts drug smugglersThe Associated Press... whereabouts by computer. "I have learned good things from the US like this, and we understand it benefits companies and the US too," Varela said. ...and more »

Subscribe to Companies RSS feed