This year Washington State passed a crowdfunding bill which allows small businesses to raise funds through equity crowdfunding.
The new law is found in Chapter 460-99c in the Washington Administrative Code and is enacted “to assist Washington start-up companies in accessing capital in small securities offerings through equity crowdfunding,” according to the first subsection of the chapter.
The idea is based upon crowdfunding sites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter which have funded individuals and their businesses or projects. Essentially, these campaigns run through these sites and can fund various campaigns and those that contribute get the promise of material goods which vary depending on the amount donated to a campaign.
The Washington law differs from these crowdfunding sites as the new state law allows state-based businesses to raise money through crowdfunding and incentivize people with stock in the company.
For more information on this and ways to ensure your intellectual property rights are protected when utilizing this law, please contact me.