Comment by dav-id | Hacker News Reader

Comment by dav-id | Hacker News Reader

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We ship direct to customers in a way similar to how you might buy from ebay an item from a seller overseas and they will send the item. We want to make the process as easy for our customers as possible so we through our couriers will take care of all customs clearance and duties if they apply.

Our biggest advantage of not setting up in the US apart from the legal aspect is being able to avoid a lot of the taxes.

When I spoke to the insurers here they told me that should someone in the US sue us it would be in a US court and not a UK court where as you mention the damages are potentially extortionately high!

As we are a very young company our exposure to the US is low but it is something that I cant ignore as a risk. Intuitively I would agree that the likelihood of being sued is greatly reduced not being registered in the US but it is a market I would like to grow into.

I think seeking advice from a lawyer with experience with US defense is a good advice and I will do this, thanks.

Someone in the US would sue you in their state, which if you lost they could potentially seize your assets in that state. If you are UK based, this would entitle them to nothing upon winning. You have literally nothing to lose.

I have been manufacturing a product (not software) since 2004 and have had the pleasure of verbal threats of lawsuits a few times. After 100,000 products sold I am still waiting to see my first letter from a lawyer telling me a suit has been filed.

While the US is very litigious, the risks are not there for you. You do not have the same legal exposure as McDonalds or Wal-mart so I would not be overly concerned about it. Sell to the US as much as you want and don't worry about lawsuits. The only time you would need US insurance would be to sell to large distributors who will demand proof of insurance. For my product that used to cost $20,000 per year for insurance, now it is down to $6000 a year because of the lack of lawsuits.

Have a read:

http://www.wassom.com/personal-jurisdiction-can-my-ar-app-ge...

I think that contains some information that bears on your situation.

My short form advice to you would be: don't worry about lawsuits that you have not been confronted with. It's fine to look ahead but this is something that most likely will never come to pass and you have no control over whether and when it will. Such lawsuits are typically reserved for companies that are wealthy enough to defend against them, a proverb in my country says that 'you can't pluck feathers from a frog' so if you're not a very plump target with assets in the US then you have little to worry about.

Concentrate on your product quality, market it with realistic expectations and you'll likely be just fine.

> "a proverb in my country says that 'you can't pluck feathers from a frog'"

The US version of this proverb is "you can't squeeze blood from a turnip".

Thanks jacquesm and gregpilling I appreciate all the advice you have given me!

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