Electronic signature Presentation for Legal Simple

An electronic trial presentation is a digital solution that allows legal professionals to display evidence and presentations during court proceedings. This method enhances clarity and engagement by utilizing visual aids, making complex information easier for juries to understand. With airSlate SignNow, you can create and manage your electronic trial presentations seamlessly.

airSlate SignNow streamlines the process of creating, sharing, and managing electronic trial presentations. By offering a user-friendly interface, you can efficiently organize your documents and evidence, ensuring smooth presentations in court. Additionally, the ability to eSign documents securely enhances the integrity of your trial preparation.

airSlate SignNow provides features such as document templates, team collaboration tools, and secure eSigning capabilities for electronic trial presentations. These features enable legal teams to prepare and share essential materials efficiently. Moreover, the platform ensures all documents are securely stored and easily accessible when needed.

Yes, airSlate SignNow is designed to provide a cost-effective solution for electronic trial presentations. With various pricing plans to fit different budgets, it allows firms to utilize advanced features without breaking the bank. This affordability, combined with its ease of use, makes it an ideal choice for legal professionals.

Absolutely! airSlate SignNow offers seamless integrations with popular tools like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft Office. This flexibility enables legal teams to incorporate their existing workflows into their electronic trial presentations, enhancing productivity and collaboration across the board.

Security is a top priority with airSlate SignNow for electronic trial presentations. The platform employs advanced encryption methods and complies with industry standards to protect your sensitive documents. This assurance helps legal professionals confidently manage their trial materials without compromising data integrity.

airSlate SignNow provides a robust customer support system to assist users with their electronic trial presentations. You can access resources such as FAQs, tutorials, and live chat support. This ensures that you have the help you need to make the most of your electronic trial presentation tools.

[full disclosure: I’m VP Digital Transformation at Solutions Notarius Inc., a company that supplies electronic and digital signature solutions]It completely depends on the requirements. I do not believe there is a uniquely better e-signature solution for all scenarios. For example, if the type of documents to be signed require low to medium reliability only, most modern e-signature platforms could be ok, subject to meeting legal requirements in the applicable jurisdiction, but if the document must meet stringent regulatory and statutory requirements that include high reliability of identity of signers, those platforms do not typically meet that threshold.Ideally, you would analyze, define and obtain agreement as to what constitutes the minimal acceptable legal reliability threshold you are willing to accept - or that readers of that document will accept. Next, define the technology requirements that correspond to that threshold. Finally, research e-signature options that meet these requirements and provide the best combination of price, features, scalability, etc..Finally, it should be noted that higher legal reliability e-signature platforms and solutions can always accommodate lower reliability documents while the converse is not true…

There’s quite a lot out there, depending on what you’re looking for :)Some free online tools (in no particular order):Dropbox. Save and share everything.Evernote. Best note app ever.FreePik. Find thousands of free images.SurveyMonkey. Create surveys to gauge customer feedback.Rapportive. Useful tool for Gmail that allows you to see other people’s social media profiles.Trello. Project management made simple.Slack. Work communication simplified.AdCat. Allows you to use a single picture to get perfect-sized, up-to-date ad images for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Free.Easel.ly. Great infographic generator for creating attractive content. Engaging content is vital for attracting audiences.Google Analytics. See who’s coming to your site and from where, among many many other awesome functions.Sidekick. Awesome email tool that tracks when emails are opened — super useful for proper follow-ups.Hotjar. Recordings of users on your website. Amazing to understand user behavior, which drives marketing strategies.Hootsuite. For social media management in one easy to use dashboard.Leadin by Hubspot. For lead management.Ahrefs. Powerful SEO tool.Later. Instagram consistently shows amazing engagement with users. This tool manages scheduling for you.Crowdfire. Great tool to figure out who to follow on social media for optimal engagement.BuzzSumo. Analyze what content performs best.Social Rank. Allows you to see which are your most valuable followers.UberSuggest. Free keyword suggesting tool.LinkMiner. Free tool for the link building strategy.JustsignNowOut. Finds journalists interested in covering you.Keyword.io. Free keyword research tool for SEO.MailChimp. To run automated email campaigns.Optimizely. A/B testing to optimize your website.Google Trends. Shows how often a particular search-term is entered.TweetDeck. Owned by Twitter, it makes discovering content easily digestible and allows you to find the topics and people you want.Title Maker. Content idea generator.Explore. Get to know what’s trending.Engage Master. Convert visitors to customers.Startup Bootstrap. Website building templates.Submit.co. Get press for your startup.SumoMe. Tool set to grow your website traffic.Quip. View documents on any device.Atomic Squirrel. Startup checklist.There’s tons more out there depending on what you are looking for specifically. I’m happy to update and reorganize if you need more :)Disclosure: I’m working on AdCat.

Selling online: an overview of the rulesThis is an edited version of a guide for businesses.E-commerce TMT & Sourcing TMT Retail Education UKThere has been a steady growth in the variety and volume of goods and services which are available on-line to both businesses and consumers, and on-line selling is increasingly seen as a major way for all businesses to save costs. Almost inevitably, as the practice of on-line selling proliferates so does the amount of legislation governing it. This article provides an overview of the law governing on-line sales in the UK and an analysis of the issues that a business should consider before setting up an on-line sales process.The law governing online salesThere are two distinct types of legislation that affect on-line retailers. Firstly, traditional consumer protection regulations apply to all consumer sales made on-line. These regulations are well established, but it is important to remember that they apply to on-line retailers as much as they do to traditional ones. Secondly, there are regulations designed specifically to deal with problems and issues facing retailers on-line.Traditional consumer protection regulationsThese protect purchasers and consumers whether they are buying the goods over the counter of a shop or over the internet. For instance the Sale of Goods Act gives certain rights to purchasers about the quality of the goods they receive, and their rights if the goods fail to live up to these standards. The Consumer Credit Act protects consumers' rights when they enter into an agreement for someone to provide them with loans or credit facilities including circumstances where they buy goods or services using a credit card. The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations protect consumers' rights where they enter into agreements with retailers who try to impose unfair terms in the agreement. There are also numerous other pieces of legislation, many of which will apply to different contract and product types.Online regulationsThese regulations are new, and were brought into force largely to protect consumers' rights when they buy products either over the internet or by telephone. They largely derive from EU Directives, and include the E-commerce Regulations , the Distance Selling Regulations and the Electronic Signatures Regulations . These are the regulations that control the actual on-line sales process and they provide the starting block from which we can consider the practical business requirements of on-line retailers.Although the traditional consumer regulations are important for all sales processes, this article focuses on the on-line regulations and how they affect the various stages of the on-line sales process. The next five sections take you through what the regulations require including information that must be provided to a purchaser, the use of electronic signatures, contract formation issues and ensuring your contract is legal.Information that must be suppliedThe various regulations share a central theme: companies should not hide themselves from purchasers, and should provide as much information to purchasers as possible.Company information that must be supplied under the E-Commerce RegulationsThe E-Commerce Regulations require that all commercial web sites make the following information directly and permanently available to consumers via the website:the company's name, postal address (and registered office address if this is different) and email address;the company's registration number;any Trade or Professional Association memberships;the company's VAT number.All of this applies regardlessof whether the site sells on-line. In addition, any commercial communication – that is any email or even SMS text message – used in providing an "Information Society Service" must display this information.The E-Commerce Regulations also require that all prices must be clear and unambiguous, and web sites must state whether the prices are inclusive of taxes and delivery costs.Contractual information that must be supplied under the E-Commerce RegulationsWhen it comes to actually going through the contractual process the requirements for information increase once again and the consumers must be told:the steps involved in completing the contract on-line;whether the contract will be stored by the retailer and/or permanently accessible;the technical means the site uses to allow consumers to spot and correct errors made while inputting their details prior to the order being placed;the languages offered to conclude the contract;The website must also provide links to any relevant Codes of Conduct to which the retailer subscribes and set out the retailer's Terms and Conditions, in a way which allows users to save and print them.All of this information must be provided before the purchaser selects the product and starts the contractual process and it is possible to convey it early on in the sale, without deterring users with an unwieldy sales process. The most common route is to bundle as many of these details into the terms and conditions as possible, and ensure that consumers are appropriately directed to read them.Information that must be supplied under the Distance Selling RegulationsThese Regulations set out the information which must be provided to a consumer prior to the conclusion of the contract.The information must be provided in a clear and comprehensible manner which is appropriate to the means of distance communication used. This means that the information can be set out on a web page, provided that the information is brought to the attention of the consumers before the contract is entered into. The information to be provided includes all of the information which a supplier should, in any event, wish to provide in relation to:the identity of the supplier;the main characteristics of the goods or services;their price;arrangements for payment and delivery; andthe existence of the right of cancellation created under the Distance Selling Regulations.Information that should be set out in the terms and conditionsThe terms and conditions should:make it clear who is selling the product, together with the geographical and email address;describe clearly what the customer is getting and what it will cost, including all taxes and delivery costs; andidentify the arrangements for delivery of the product.The terms and conditions of the site are very important, and will vary for every retailer. It is important that the terms and conditions are properly drafted, as poorly drafted terms and conditions will expose the retailer to unnecessary risk.Electronic signaturesThe Electronic Signature Regulations apply to any contract and not just those entered into with consumers. In order for there to be a binding contract the following essential elements of a contract must be present:an unconditional offer;an unconditional acceptance of that offer;consideration passing from both parties other than in Scotland where consideration is not a requirement; andan intention to create legal relations, i.e. the parties must intend to enter into a legally binding contract.There must also be certainty as to the terms, parties and subject matter of the contract. For the majority of contracts there is no legal requirement for a signature.Whenever a person buys or sells something he or she is entering into a contract, no matter how small the purchase. In the newsagents, when a person buys a newspaper he or she contracts with the newsagent for the purchase. The newsagent makes an 'Invitation to Treat' by placing the publication on sale. The person offers to purchase it from the newsagent, proffering money, and the offer is accepted (concluding the contract) by taking the money. This is still a contract, although not a word needs to be said, and nothing is written down. However, the essentials of a contract have been formed: an offer (to buy, or sell), an acceptance of that offer, and (everywhere except Scotland) consideration (whether money being paid, or some other form of consideration) for the sale. The various stages of the contractual process will be discussed in more detail later, as it is important to distinguish between who is making the offer and who is accepting it.Signatures are not actually necessary for the conclusion of every contract (your visit to the paper shop could become a chore), but they can have three essential functions when we consider on-line contracts:To identify the person who has bought the product;To indicate a personal involvement, or trustworthiness; andTo indicate an intention to be bound to the contract.The principal, and simple effect of the Electronic Signature Regulations is to make electronic signatures legally valid. Most of the discussion, and further interpretation of electronic signatures actually comes from a report published in December 2001 by the Law Commission entitled "Electronic Commerce: Formal requirements in Commercial Transactions", and in subsequent guidance from the DTI.Depending on exactly what is being sold the method of collecting the electronic signature will vary. In most cases, the function required of the electronic signature is the third one listed above – indicating that the purchaser is making an offer to contract. However, for more complex products being sold on-line, for instance financial services products, the role of the signature may become more important for one or both of the first two reasons.Depending on the value and/or importance of the transaction the parties may want a greater degree of certainty as to reliability of the signature. This may involve the use of public key infrastructure, for example.Contract formation issuesThe main issues considered in this section are how, when and where the contract is formed. This involves an analysis of the contract formation procedure based on the principle of offer and acceptance and the significance of the "country of origin" principle.The offer and acceptance procedure onlineStep 1: Establishing the offer and acceptance procedureThis is where the E-commerce Regulations can be used to the seller's advantage. It is possible to sell on-line and take payment by credit card without concluding the contract on-line. The solution is to provide that the customer is making an offer on the site and that the contract will be formed only if the customer's order is accepted – and that taking payment from the customer's credit card does not indicate cceptance.On-line merchant accounts provide for making refunds to a customer's credit card. Therefore, the terms should explain that, while the customer's card may be debited before the contract is formed, if the customer's order is ultimately rejected, a refund will be made immediately.Step 2: Completing the order formThe customer is taken to the order form where he completes the quantity of goods and his delivery details. It would be good practice to offer three buttons: submit, clear and cancel. The "clear" button is needed because the E-Commerce Regulations require a means for the customer to correct any errors.Step 3: Incorporating the terms and conditionsAt the bottom of the terms and conditions page the purchaser should, ideally, be required to check a box to indicate that he or she has read, understood and accepted the terms and conditions, before clicking the "Accept" button. The "Accept" button should not work until the box has been checked. Equally the page should be designed in such a way that the consumer cannot check the box and click "Accept" until the page has fully loaded onto the screen. By doing this, you improve your position in the event that a purchaser claims there was no opportunity to read your terms.While there is no responsibility on the retailer to ensure that the consumer has in fact read them, following this procedure will demonstrate that reasonable efforts have been made to bring them to purchasers' attention. The terms and conditions should be in a format that can be printed or saved – therefore avoid pop-up windows and ensure that they fit within the width of the page and are presented in a way that they will print properly.It is wise to also include a term like the following:"By clicking the 'Accept' button you agree to these terms and conditions. By completing and submitting the following electronic order form you are making an offer to purchase goods which, if accepted by us, will result in a binding contract."The words, "if accepted by us," are very important.This approach is the suggested 'best practice' approach for relaying the terms and conditions, and ensuring that the consumer has read them. However, it is not the most consumer friendly approach to present the purchaser with a screen of 'small print' in the middle of what, to the consumer, was an otherwise normal shopping experience. Therefore a number of on-line retailers adopt a second-best approach, which is to include a link to the terms and conditions, and make the consumer tick a box to confirm that they have read and accepted the terms and conditions, before they click the main button to buy the product. This approach, while not as legally secure, is probably acceptable in a number of purchasing models.Step 4: Taking the consumer's credit card details on-lineAt this stage, the user should be taken to the page on a secure server where his credit card details are taken. This page should state: "Your card will be debited with the sum of £X when you click the Submit button. This will be refunded if your offer is refused." Repeat the choice of submit, clear and cancel.Step 5: Acknowledging receipt of the orderWhen the card details are validated, the E-Commerce Regulations require that you give the customer an acknowledgement page and send an acknowledgement email. This should not confirm a contract; it should instead confirm that the order has been received and that the order is being "processed". It is helpful to give the customer an order number at this stage so that he or she can chase-up any problems. It is good practice, though not legally required, to ask the user to click a button on a confirmation page to indicate that he has read the confirmation – e.g. a "Continue" button, linking to the homepage of the site.Step 6: Providing confirmation of the information provided and the right to cancelThe Distance Selling Regulations now require the supplier to provide the consumer in writing or in another durable medium confirmation of the information provided prior to the conclusion of the contract and details of the right of cancellation. Generally a consumer has a period of seven working days within which to cancel the contract and return the goods to the supplier. The only cost to a consumer will be the cost of returning any goods received by it to the supplier.A consumer will not be entitled to cancel a contract after it has been entered into, where the supplier has commenced the provision of services with the consumer's agreement prior to the end of the cancellation period then the consumer will not have the right to cancel the contract for the provisional services. However, in order to benefit from this exception, the supplier must have advised the consumer that the consumer will not be able to cancel the contract once the performance of the services has begun with the consumer's agreement.It is not possible to contract out of the Distance Selling Regulations. Any term which attempts to do this will be void to the extent that it is inconsistent with the provisions of the distance Selling Regulations.Step 7: DeliveryFinally, dispatch the goods. If a typo mislabelled an item costing £200 at £2 and someone ordered 500 of them, the site could politely – and legally – refuse the order. This is because by following the procedure set out above the dispatch of goods is in effect the acceptance of the offer made by the consumer at the start of the process. Until this point there has been no acceptance and only an acknowledgement.The "country of origin" principleThe E-commerce Regulations apply a "country of origin" principle. In its simplest form, this means that as long as a UK business complies with UK laws, it can "ignore" the laws of other Member States. In general terms this is a definite bonus for on-line retailers. However, recognising that such an approach would be bad news for consumers, this basic rule is qualified.The E-Commerce Regulations do not apply the country of origin principle to the terms of consumer contracts. In practical terms, this means that a UK-based e-commerce site's terms and conditions should meet the laws of every Member State in which consumers can buy its products, not just UK laws.As a result of the consumer contract exception, any site selling to French consumers must provide its terms and conditions in French – otherwise they may be considered invalid. If selling into Denmark, consumers must be given a 14 working day cooling-off period during which the consumer can change his or her mind about the purchase and return the goods for a refund. In the UK, the cooling-off period is only seven working days. These are only examples, of course there are many other differences.Despite this signNow qualification, there are still advantages in the Regulations' country of origin principle that can benefit a UK-based business. For example, the UK's retail laws are among the most relaxed in Europe. This can give UK businesses advantages over, say, German competitors. A German e-tailer must comply with any German restrictions on promotional offers; its UK rival escapes such restrictions, even when selling to German consumers.Ensuring your contract is legalIt is important for e-commerce retailers to ensure that the contract which is formed with the consumer under the process described above is both legally correct and also affords the retailer the maximum protection. There are various ways in which the contracting process can be structured to be legally correct, and it is important to balance absolute best practice, and a more commercial approach which is still legally correct. Equally, it is surprisingly easy to structure the process in a way which is legally incorrect, and which exposes the company to more risk than is necessary.

All investments in a company are made according to detailed legal documents that specify everything about the relationships between the various parties, the terms of the value exchange, and the rights and responsibilities of everyone involved. The paperwork can range from three to five pages for a simple, nonconvertible note to 120 pages or more for a full convertible preferred stock round. Because these are legal documents, both you and the investor(s) have your own lawyers, who work together to develop the agreements signed by the principals.The collection of documents that constitute the investment agreement are summarized in a much shorter document known as the term sheet (anywhere from one to half a dozen pages, depending on the type of investment). Think of the term sheet as a shorthand way of documenting an agreement in principle that takes many pages of legalese to implement. It deals specifically with all of the major points of the relationships, and thus allows both sides to determine quickly whether they want to enter into a deal.A term sheet is usually (although not always) drafted by the investor and presented to you with a defined date by which it needs to be accepted. If you sign and return it within that period, the deal is in motion, and the lawyers for each side go back and forth on the documents that will be signed at the closing. Alternatively, you may respond by declining the terms as presented, but indicate that you would be receptive to a deal at a higher valuation, or with a larger investment, or something else. In that case, the ball is back in the court of the investor, who may simply walk away or come back with a revised term sheet.The period between when an investor presents a signed term sheet to you and the expiration date of the offer is critical for everyone. Since you are not bound by anything in the term sheet until you sign it, you are free to do whatever you want with it, including taking it to other potential investors and saying, in effect, “Look! Here is a signed term sheet that I've been given by Tom. Dick, would you be interested in matching or beating it? Just so you know, I'm also speaking with Harry, who has expressed interest as well.”While it would not happen in exactly that way, I guarantee you that the Holy Grail of fund-raising (from a founder's perspective) is having more than one term sheet from which to choose. And since market competition is a main driver in early stage finance, one term sheet often brings others from potential investors who were sitting on the fence.Because of the possibility (if not likelihood) of their term sheet being shopped around by you to other investors and used as a stalking horse, investors try to make the consideration time as short as possible. In most cases, an interested investor will have several conversations with you to figure out the range of terms you are likely to accept. They may also send over an unsigned draft of the sheet that is not binding on them, to get feedback. After the real term sheet is delivered with a signature, you usually have one to three days to accept or decline the offer.Once you have signed the term sheet, it is binding— not just legally (for at least some parts of it), but also ethically. If either party backs out of a signed term sheet without a good reason, word will get around, and the action will have long-term repercussions, including a stain on your— or the investor's— reputation.After both parties have signed, the lawyers work on the full documentation for the round. One lawyer (usually specified in the term sheet) will be responsible for the base drafting, with the other making comments, although in most cases the documents are based on standard industry models. The timing of the actual payment of moneys committed during the investment round depends upon the nature of the round. In friends and family rounds, you may be able to receive funds as they are committed. In a traditional angel round, there will be a targeted range that you try to signNow, as well as a minimum amount needed to close. Once that minimum is signNowed, a closing is held at which all the funds are released to the company.In the past, a closing involved sending paper back and forth for signatures and using overnight delivery services to send checks to the company's bank. Today, the trend is toward fully electronic/ digital closings, in which the requisite documents are electronically signed by all parties and funds are wired directly into the company's bank accounts.From Rose, David S. The Startup Checklist: 25 Steps to a Scalable, High-Growth Business (pp. 219-222). Wiley.

My friend Anbazhagan has made a good answer which I suggest to read first before reading mine on this regard, as this answer is a continuation of his answerAnbazhagan's answer to Is Kerala better than Tamil Nadu in tourism?If you read Anbazhagan’s answer, he clearly used charts and reports to showcase how TN is a leading tourist destination. And its a fact.TN is one of India’s top 5 tourist hubs, far higher than Kerala.Ofcourse, there are some flaws or misreadings in the stats of India tourism, because of certain anomalies in calculating foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs). India Tourism calculates Foreign Tourists on basis of Tourist visas and Electronic Tourist Visa (ETVs) issued. And interestingly, even entry of People of India Origin (PIO) who can enter India Visa-free are also calculated as Foreign Tourist. More interestingly, they are calculated as a new tourist each time whenever they make multiple entries into the country. So if a tourist in India, say after touring UP moves to Nepal or Bhutan and then enters back into India, it's calculated as a fresh/new tourist.The primary flaw is that it calculates Non-Tourists as tourists. As I explained as a comment to Anbazhagan’s answer, there are huge Indian diaspora around the world, who have obtained citizenship of other countries where they live. When they visit India as part of visiting their family, friends or relatives (VFR Traffic- Visiting Friends/Relatives), they are counted as tourists. Take Tamil Nadu’s case. There is a huge Tamil diaspora in Malaysia, Singapore and Far East nations, who are legal citizens of those countries. They visit annually to TN to meet their family and friends. But this is counted as tourists.This VFR traffic may not use regular hotels or avail tourism products as such, as their intention may not be sightseeing etc. They may stay with their family or friends for a few days and return back, thus contributing little to the local economy as tourists. But India considers even such traffic as tourists.If we check India tourism statistics, the biggest source country for tourists into India is from Bangladesh. This means Bangladeshis make a whopping 21.9% of total foreign tourists into India.But in reality, they are not tourists. Bangladeshis are essentially part of Bengali culture of Greater Bengal. Just because a borderline drawn between West Bengal and Bangladesh, it doesn’t make them foreigners in reality. They have families, friends, relatives back in West Bengal and regularly visits them both legally and illegally. And Kolkatta is more popular transit location for Bangladeshis than Dhaka or Chittagong. So essentially Bangladeshi citizens cross more into India legally. And it's very easy for them to cross, as they all need a valid air/rail/bus ticket to India to get an instant Walk-In Visa. Its just matter of a day or two. In other words, for Bangladeshi to enter into India, it's much similar for someone in Chennai going to Bangalore or Hyderabad to meet their friends or relatives.So essentially, you see even West Bengal ranked the 6th top destination for FTAs, thanks to the huge influx of this traffic. Same applies to Punjab.TN’s huge Tamil Diaspora in Far East countries and Western countries, make a huge number in FTAs.Secondly, prior to the introduction of Business E-Visas, most of the businessmen/corporate executives who enters India for short Business purposes like client visits, meetings etc used to take Tourist visas rather than Business visas. This is because obtaining the latter is a more complicated and cumbersome process which used to involve a visit to Indian embassies for biometrics and a longer processing time etc, while tourist visas were faster and easier. Even now, many foreign corporate executives prefer tourist visa to enter India to avoid Indian Economic agencies like DRI, Enforcement, IT etc scrutinizing their business interests. After all, once entered into India, unless caught for some legal offences, there is no way to check the purpose of visit into India by foreigners.Chennai is India’s 4th largest metro and one of the biggest business hubs in the country and thus a lot of foreign corporate executives and businessmen enters into India via Chennai using Tourist visas. This also inflates the tourism figures.However, the above similar concept doesn’t apply to Kerala, as Malayalee Diaspora are primarily concentrated in the Middle East and they ARE NOT LEGAL CITIZENS of Middle East countries. So essentially when NRKs (Non-Resident Malayalees) visit Kerala annually for this same VFR, they enter India as Indian citizens using Indian Passports, thus NOT COUNTED as FTA. So as Kerala is not a major Business destination like Chennai or Bangalore, to we don’t have Business traffic entering on tourist label.So essentially the foreign tourist's arrival shown for Kerala are more of actual leisure tourists who come into the state for tourism purposes more than VFR or corporate traffic.The concept of tourism differs in a big way between TN and Kerala.Kerala tourism since 1999 has focused on High Value-Low Volume traffic. Prior to 1999, Kerala tourism was very typical to most of the Indian tourist destinations. We had lot of low-value backpackers, mostly from Russia and old Soviet countries visiting Kerala, primarily to spend a few days in Kovalam Beach and leave. They spend very low in the state as they were mostly backpackers. Due to this reason, more than resorts, it was lodges and cheaper accommodation that came up in Kovalam to attract this traffic. And this traffic created many legal issues, particularly the rise of sex tourism and drugs. The 1989-released Malayalam movie- Season was a brilliant take on rising Drug business and sex activities in KovalamIn 1999, when Amitabh Kant (current CEO of Niti Aayog and one of the celebrated bureaucrats of the country)became Director of Kerala Tourism, he redefined the concept of tourism for Kerala.Kerala: Gateway Of IndiaIncredible India: When public sector advertising turned savvyHis primary vision was that Kerala shouldn’t move in the direction which Thailand was moving and wished Kovalam not be another Phuket. He wanted Kerala to be a high-value destination. And it's here, the entire reorientation of tourism started. This included stopping of many charters, cancellation of licences for many lodges and frequent raids across hotels/lodges to dislocate the concept of cheap tourism and create a fear factor for those involved in sex and drug tourism.It was this time, the brand Kerala- God’s Own country came into full swing and eventually it became India’s first and only tourism superbrand.The underlying principle of Kerala tourism was EXPERIENTIAL TOURISM.If you visit TN or Rajasthan (two top tourist hubs of India), its more of SIGHTSEEING tourism. There are huge forts, grand palaces, mega bazaars etc as in case of Rajasthan and magnificent temples, UNESCO heritage sites etc as in the case of Tamil Nadu.There are no such things for Kerala. There are no major forts, palaces or even Grand temples to visit as far as Kerala is concerned. Even those grand or big temples in Kerala, they are STRICTLY OFF for tourism as Malayalees don’t allow Non-Hindus and foreigners into any Kerala temple. So as there are no guides or anyone to explain the temple sightings to the outsiders. And such attempts are normally discouraged. For example, I had a recent experience when I was trying to explain the meanings of historic paintings to a North Indian friend of mine while visiting the famous Vadakkumnathan temple. Those 2000 years old paintings were restored recently using old techniques and won a UNESCO award for heritage conservation. So while explaining the meaning gigantic Nataraja painting inside the Nalambalam (Inner temple), a security guard came and showed me a board on the other side, which says - “Navvu Namajapattinnu Matram (Tongue for Holy Chants only)” which means silence. On the contrary, you can see 1000s of both authorized guides and touts to explain every bit of historic temples of Madurai or Thanjavur or similar which one can’t see in Kerala. Those Non-Malayalees who visit huge temples of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple of Trivandrum surely misses every single grandeur sightings of that temple, due to lack of explanation. So as despite of huge treasure there, none are exhibited citing temple rules that properties of the deity are meant for his personal use, not for public exhibition. Had the same been in Egypt, you would see magnificent museums to showcase these unique treasures that grabbed international headlines.So essentially there is nothing much to see in Kerala. So as part of reorientation, the full focus changed to pure experiential tourism.Tourists who come to Kerala seek for discovering their self, their inner emotions by syncing with nature and lazing simply.Take the example of the biggest tourism product of Kerala- the Houseboat trips on Alleppey Backwaters. For the first 10–20 mins, you will be excited to see a lavish houseboat with all modern amenities, which is nothing but a hotel on water. Then for the next 30 mins, you will be excited to see the natural beauty of backwaters, the greenery etc. After that, nothing. You just gaze yourself into never-ending greenery, fields etc and then into a large lake where you see nothing on the horizon. And the houseboat is essentially cut off from everything. No internet, no television etc. So what you do? Just gazing into nature and slowly making yourself rewind your own past and a back-trip to your memories and life etc. If you are going with a group, you just chill or party with your friends, talk for hours with them directly and unwind yourself.Essentially beyond these, there is nothing special when you cruise in the backwaters. But that is the biggest highlight of the trip. It's able to make sync with yourself and your loved ones. You got time to break from a faster life and appreciate very small things like chirping of birds or appreciating a pack of ducks moving into the water or a simple thrill of catching fresh fish etc. Its all about experiences, not sightings.Essentially this concept defines the award-winning Kerala tourism Ad- Your Moment is waitingespecially this scene defines what you should expect from Kerala tourismIts nothing by exploring yourself as like seeing yourself in a mirror.Kerala tourism fully focuses on these high-end experiences as the key offering for its tourism and its what almost all ads of Kerala tourism focusTake the current season ad by Kerala tourismThe 2019 Kerala tourism is focused on its promotion- HUMAN BY NATURE, which asks tourists to explore the humans of Kerala, their sensitivities, their sensibilities, their lifestyles, their dreams, their aspirations and connect with them. It's not asking tourists to visit a so-so destination, see so-so monument etc.Last year (2018), Kerala tourism was promoting the concept- Follow the Sound of KeralaIt completely focused on minute sounds of the state, its people, its markets, the houses, the flora, the fauna, the forests, the valleys etc.A year back (2017), Kerala Tourism was focused on its new promotion- Kerala, A reading Room with a view with a tag line- Live InspiredThe focus was on experiencing the literary heritage of Kerala as what a Library offers and from its window- explore the diverse cultural musings of the state.So essentially the entire promotion of Kerala tourism is focused on EXPERIENCES and mental pleasures rather momentary pleasures of sightings and monumental wonders.I think, comparing the main signature ads of two leading tourist states can help to understand the differences of conceptKerala Tourism- Signature VideoRajasthan Tourism -Signature VideoSo as both Kerala and Rajasthan had a series of short ads aimed to attract Indian audiences in last few years.Kerala’s ad campaign was - #ComeOutandPlaySo as the same Rajasthan ads wereIn Kerala ads, the concept is to leave aside your daily chores, your work and your busy schedules, only to understand your own emotions, your attachments, your love, your family and its happiness.In Rajasthan ads (which in my opinion were brilliant) were focused on exploring the unexplored places that can you awestruck…I am sorry to compare Kerala with Rajasthan when the question is all about Kerala with TN… But just compared to understand the intricacies of Kerala tourism concept and how it differs from others.Tamil Nadu tourism, on the other hand, is a typical old-fashioned one. It focused more on places and sightings, typical to most of the tourist destinations in the country.As Anbazhagan said, TN govt isn’t aggressive on the promotion of Tamil Nadu tourism. It's just one of the several departments of TN Government. The Sarkari attitude and lethargy is clearly seen and I personally experienced that many times in past. Perhaps TTDC (Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation) stands exactly were KTDC (Kerala Tourism Development Corporation) stood 20 years back.For this, we owe a lot to Amithab Kant for his visionary leadership to change the whole Tourism narrative and then to Dr. Venu who carry forwarded Amithab’s legacy for Kerala tourism.Perhaps more than branding Amithab Kant’s contributions to Kerala tourism was decentralizing the tourism activities.Instead of Department of Tourism handing entire tourism of the state, Amithab Kant decided that each district will handle destination tourism promotion, while state tourism department will only focus on brand management, communications and statewide tourism initiatives. This leads a two-tier system, ie at the state level, we have Department of Tourism which owns Kerala Tourism brand focused only on promotion of Kerala as a whole and crafting general programs and social initiatives. Kerala tourism doesn’t sell any tourist packages specific to one place. You won’t see Kerala tourism selling Wayanad tourism or Alleppey tourism etc. Rather that destination marketing is left to the second tier- the DTPCs (District Tourism Promotion Council). Every district will have its own DTPCs which sells the local places. This has promoted better competitivity and efficiency. DPTCs are mostly controlled by local tourist operators, hotel companies and tourism leaders of the districts who have direct stake-hold in tourism activities in that district. So they aggressively promote their place.The best example is that of DTPC Alapuzha which aggressively pushed Alleppey to international popularity, with houseboats and backwater tourism. Perhaps you won’t see that spirit in some other DTPC like that of Kasargod or Kannur. So the destiny of tourism marketing of a destination is with the locals, not with few bureaucrats sitting in the capital. While Tamil Nadu tourism is still a capital-centric model like many other tourist boards across the country. Few bureaucrats in one city cannot design and push destinations located across a large state especially that of TN.As Kerala tourism (Department of Tourism) doesn’t do destination marketing, they have ample time and resources to push for many other important things. For example, the priority of Kerala tourism these days is RESPONSIBLE TOURISM initiatives, aiming to train stakeholders to improve their skills for responsible tourism.For example, Kerala tourism launched a scheme of Better Together, where they train locals for becoming responsible guides, cooks, community workers, model farmers, etcThe above ads weren’t meant for tourists. Its meant for Malayalee community, how to train themselves for becoming a better guide, better run a community kitchen or push farm tourism etc.Kerala tourism regularly conducts programs for such community training. The first of its series started with Kumarakom in Kottayam and by now, Kerala is a leader in RT activities as defined by UNWTO.Detailed presentation of Kerala Tourism- Responsible Tourism Initiatives that changed community life in those places where it was implemented. This is a presentation made by Tourism Director Dr. VenuThe aim is simple. Make tourism, a driver of the local economy and create sustainable economic activities within the state that can create more than 5 Lakh employment by 2021.All You Need to Know About Kerala Tourism's Responsible Tourismhttp://www.uniindia.com/kerala-s...Kerala's 'Responsible Tourism' initiative a role model, says UNWTOSo Kerala tourism, instead of being a tourism operator, ended up a training organization for effective organic farming or sustainable community monetary programs or small scale tourism employment programs etc.Such larger scale social activities are missing with other tourism boards like TN etc because its primary job is only to promote and push sightseeing activities in the stateEssentially Kerala tourism is definitely miles ahead than TN Tourism if one takes value and quality wise. Whereas in terms of quantity and volume, TN Tourism is definitely miles ahead than Kerala.

Important Key Points About Company Registration In Malaysia:Bank accountLocal DirectorRM 500,000Share capitalRestaurant businessExport / Import licenseMM2HAddressFeesBank accountIf you are a business owner or an investor who is planning to setup his/her own business entity in Malaysia, I would simply suggest you to study all related aspects and procedures needed to open a bank account in Malaysia as a foreigner. This is mainly because of the guidelines and regulations amended by Malaysian Government over Bank Account Opening by foreigners in Malaysia. The Foreign Investors are highly recommended to contact representatives of different banks incorporated within the country to make sure where or in which banks they are allowed to make transaction or open an account with. Usually, the local banks in Malaysia does not allow or discourage the foreigners to open an account with them due to several regulatory issues. Not to worry for my foreign investors friends as the scenario there is much acceptable for us. The foreign investors can easily open their personal and corporate account with the foreign banks incorporated and established in different cities all over Malaysia.  This issue often turns out to be a huge problem for the foreign investors – The main target becomes the small and medium business entities. Well foreign companies and foreign investors with big investment to make has nothing to worry about. Such companies are considered as exception and can easily open their desired company bank account in both the Local and Foreign banks established in Malaysia.Local DirectorForeign investors usually chose Limited Liability Company, LLC as their desire business entity in Malaysia. As per company law and regulation, LLC in Malaysia is said to have at least two company directors to be incorporated. And these company directors are asked to be permanent resident off Malaysia. This is not a valid or correct information at all. The company directors are not asked to be physically present for accomplishing all steps for company registration Malaysia. The foreign company has the right to appoint local director(s) to resolve small issues and other mandatory works for company registration. All Limited Liability Company are asked to appoint a Company Secretary (it is a must) who can sent all sort of important documents to the Foreign Company Directors through courier or other electronic manner that needs signature. The company director can sign the authentic paper works and send it back to the respective company secretary through similar manner. The company secretary and other local appointed directors can easily finish up the remaining work related to company registration. The Local company directors can be hired or appointed WITHOUT holding any company shares.RM 500,000Often, we can see this in several professional sites related to company registration in Malaysia that it requires to remit RM 500,000 to incorporate a Private Limited Company or Limited Liability Company in Malaysia. But honestly, the information provided is not true. As business owners and sole investors can incorporate their PVT or LLC business entity in Malaysia by remitting less then the amount specified. The PVT or LLC business entities that requires formulate certain aspects i.e. to overcome immigration issue, acquiring work permit, obtaining business visa has to remit RM 500,000 for incorporation purpose. However, one won’t find such information in Company Act 1965 about remitting RM 500,000. Hence it can be said that such law or step is self-issues or impowered by the Authority People.Share CapitalBusiness owners and foreign investors often come up with one question when it comes to incorporate a new business entity in Malaysia. The question is simple and straightforward -- What minimum capital is required to be submitted to start a business/small business in Malaysia?  Well the answer is simpler -- Any Amount can be submitted as share capital for registering a Private Limited Company or Limited Liability Company (or other form) in Malaysia. Actually, there is no fixed capital mentioned to be submitted at any law book, regulatory guidelines or company registration program. Yet for incorporating or establishing a big industry with big business plans RM 500,000 is asked to be paid as Capital Shares for future betterment.Restaurant businessThe Restaurant Business is always considered as a prime, lucrative and profit-making business policy for maximum investors with dreams to setup their own business in Malaysia. To be very honest it does not require much to plan and to set up a Restaurant Business in Malaysia by the investors. Malaysians love to eat and street food along with restaurant cuisines are always in demand. Hence, we can state that food business or restaurant business is simply a everyday cash business which never stops to go down only if your restaurant is established in the right location and standard food quality is maintained. The restaurant business can be incorporated in Malaysia by the means of a small capital share invested say, RM 30000 to RM 40000. One can also enjoy the availability of skilled multi-cultural staffs to work in your restaurant. Food Business and Restaurant Business Licensing are the most easiest to achieve if compared to others.Export/ import licenseExport/Import Business is considered as one of the most growing and talked business in Malaysia currently. As like all other businesses in Malaysia the Export Import business needs authentic permit from the SSM (sole statutory body that maintains company registration and regulatory facts) along with an authorized Export / Import license to start off with business operation. The investors or the business heads are always recommended to check out whether their business nature, product or service is stated legal or illegal by the Malaysian Government. Cause if it is not permitted or stated illegal one would not be allowed to get the Export Import License in Malaysia from the desired Ministry.MM2HThe MM2H is a popular program mainly derived for foreigners staying or doing business in Malaysia. The MM2H stands for “Malaysia My Second Home” is simply a program that can be facilitated by all citizens of all age who wants or needs to live in Malaysia under long term visa. The Malaysian Government does not only allow the Visa Holders to live in Malaysia rather they are facilitated with several other benifitis and opportunities such as, purchasing property, buying house or a transportation eg: Car, Children Education. One can even call up their family members in Malaysia i.e. Husband, spouse along with work permit facility upon situation demand.AddressAs mentioned above often we see in different professional sites that an appropriate business address must be conducted by the business entity to accomplish the registration process related to Private Limited Company or Limited Liability Company in Malaysia. However, this information is also not 100% true as it is not mandatory at all for the SME. Yet business related to communication and manufacturing requires a business address but is said to be not mandatory related with company incorporation aspects and processing. It should be clear to the business owners and investors that Registered Address and Business Address are two separate issues to count.FeesFess for company registration comes with demand and your personal requirement. Yes, if you demand to get better service you would simply need to pay a bit more than you usually expect.MiscellaneousOffice Rental: Yes, to run your business in ease and hassle free it is require to have an authentic office address or a complete designed office before or after your business entity is incorporated and ready to operate in Malaysia. Business owners and sole investors can rent a Virtual Office at the beginning stage of their business operations and can later shift to their own permanent office. This surly help them to save money and time.Sign Board and Premise License: This Sign Board and Premise License is an important aspect to deal with and required by the business entities for being operation in Malaysia. All business companies established or to be incorporated in future need to have permission for this license.  Supporting papers required to obtain this Sign Board and Premise License:  1) Office rental agreement  2) Pictures of your fully furnished office  3) Office decoration chart (PLANNING) 4) Pictures of both Indoor and outdoor places where the sign board will be placed.ESD registration: ESD registration is accomplished by all business companies incorporated in Malaysia under the Expatriate Service Department of government in Putrajaya. This government agency is the sole body responsible for supporting and processing the Registration system.  Supporting papers required for ESD registration:  1) Company staffs  2) Financial statement  3) Detailed quota of hiring staffs  4) Copy of rental agreement  5) Other necessary documents as asked. Why and when do you need this ESD?  Well the answer is quite simple to understand, If your company and your company work nature requires to hire foreign employees then you would simply require a valid permit to do so. The ESD registration is what that permit is all about and honestly to get that permit from the desired authorized body is not an easy task. Approval time required often cross over 3–4 months. Unless there is no ESD approval business companies or business owners can NOT bring or import foreign staffs at any cost, it is considered illegal if done so.

Sadly, the internet is rampant with clicky-fingered bloggers and writers ready to cut and paste content from your website on to their own without permission. Luckily, if you find your content has been posted online without your permission, there are ways to deal with the theft (and it is not my bruiser cousin Michael Corleone). Here’s an abbreviated version of an article posted on my blog Sidebar Saturdays outlining what can be done. The Case Of The Stolen ContentFirst, determine if the unauthorized use is considered “Fair Use” under the copyright laws. The copyright laws permit use of your copyrighted work without permission for things like criticism, commentary, news reporting, educational, and research purposes. If you want to learn more about fair use, see this article on PhotoAttorney.If you believe the use of your work is not considered “fair use,” then begin the process of having the infringing content removed.1. Send a cease-and-desist emailBefore you go all formal-copyright-ballistic on the person who has copied your content, send them a please-remove-my-content email first. Simply state in the email you are the copyright holder of the content in question and have not given them permission to use it. Provide a link to your content that has been stolen, the date it was published, and why you are the copyright owner (author, work-for-hire, etc). Then give a time frame by which the stolen content should be removed from their site or you will file a formal complaint (24-48 hours is usually enough time). The tone should be polite, direct, and business-like (without blustery). This process usually works (often without a reply).2. Send a takedown complaintIf a polite email gets you zippo traction, the next option is to take advantage of The Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The DMCA is a law that, among other things, extends the copyright laws and penalties to digital media and the internet. These provisions provide a process for the removal of infringing content, what most call “takedown notice” procedures.First, file a complaint (the “takedown notice”) with the service hosting the website with the infringing content. The complaint is a nicely worded request to the hosting service to remove the unlawfully copied content from the website in question. In addition, you can also send the notice to search engines like Google and Yahoo. Website hosting services and internet search engines have policies that outline the removal of copied content. It is a requirement per the DMCA if they want to avail themselves of the “Safe Harbor” protection (see below). Here are two examples of policies for legal removal requests: one for Google, and the other WordPress.If the website host has no takedown notice form to fill out, use one of these sample takedown notices: IPWatchdog, The Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition, or Innovation-To-Profits.These forms or letters are simple to fill out or write, and contain the following information:1. Description of your copyrighted work being infringed and where it is located (website URL);2. Identification of the infringing content and where it is located (website URL);3. Your contact information — name, address, telephone, email address;4. A statement that the copyright owner (you, or the agent authorized on your behalf) did not authorize the infringing use;5. A statement the information in the takedown notice is accurate; and6. A signature of the copyright owner or person authorized to act on the owner’s behalf.Once the hosting service has been properly notified via a complaint, they have two choices.1. Technically, the service provider is infringing the copyright laws by hosting a website with pilfered content. But the DMCA provisions provide them with immunity from copyright infringement lawsuits, something called “Safe Harbor” under the copyright laws, provided they take certain steps. They must take reasonable action to remedy the infringement by removing the infringing content. Failure to do this means loss of immunity. Invariably, when presented with the potential of a complex copyright lawsuit or avoiding liability, the web hosting service will almost always comply with a takedown notice demand.2. If the web-hosting service or search engine does not remove the infringing material, and instead believes the complaint was filed in error, they can respond to the complaint, refuse to remove the content, leaving you to pursue a copyright infringement action.If the material is taken down, the website host will notify the person who posted the infringing material that they have received a takedown notice. The person accused of the infringing act, can then file a counter-notice to dispute the allegations. The website host will then consider the circumstances and if the copyright owner has not initiated formal legal proceedings in ten days (which hopefully will not be needed), the website host will restore the content as required by the DMCA.One thing worth noting, if you feel you’ve received a takedown notice by someone seeking to silence critiques or other unwanted content (which does happen by overzealous free speech squelchers), dispute the notice and request the website host to repost your content.What not to do?The Shame ApproachIf you want to look petty, resort to shaming the infringer by blogging on your website or posting comments to your Facebook groups about how horrible the person is for copying your material. Shaking your internet blogging finger at the person will only inflame the situation, and may, depending on how deep you go into angry-Wolverine mode, set you up for a defamation lawsuit. (If you want to know more about defamation, see my earlier post on Sidebar Saturdays).Other things to consider?Duplication Detection SoftwareIf theft of your content happened once, it will happen again. Be proactive. Set up a search for stolen content using duplication detection software. Here are a few tools worth checking out.1. Google Alerts scans the internet for your stolen content, then notifies you. The great thing about this tool, it is free.2. There are also other sites with duplicate content detection software that are free, like SEO Review Tools, Article Checker, Duplichecker, and Plagiarisma.3. Copyscape also searches for duplicate content, but unlike Google Alerts and the others above, it requires a fee.4. Another premium services is Content Rescue.Trackback and Pingback NotificationsThese alerts do not really inform you if your content has been stolen, but they do notify you if someone is commenting on your content (trackback), or they are linking to your content (pingback) from their blog or website. Here is a brief article about the difference between the two notifications. Be aware that trackback and pingback notifications tend to be mostly spam, so moderating these notifications to look for someone who might be copying your content without your permission can be laborious and not worth your trouble.We writers work hard at creating content. No one should be allowed to take credit for our efforts and words. Unfortunately, our cut-and-paste internet world encourages content theft. Thankfully, the copyright laws provide relatively easy (but somewhat time-consuming) measures for protecting your creative content.

This is a loan intended to be short term “payday” came about as it was intended to be a loan to carry you over till you got your next paycheck.As others have noted they are very high interest rate loans. Having such a loan for a short period of time (1–2 weeks) is expensive but not unmanageable. If you take such a loan off and take a long time to pay it off, then it will cost you a fortune in interest payments.The main issue is that when you get the loans they have 1–2 year terms on them, thus the payments may seem like they are not too bad monthly, but in reality you are paying a lot of interest and little on the principle so over that time you may pay double or triple the loan you took out (assuming you don’t just pay it off right away.The secondary issue is that these loans tend to be geared towards and given to lower income people with bad credit. Someone with good credit, even with low income, likely can have a credit card that could cover some unexpected expense, which is still high interest rate but no where near as bad as a payday loan… people with bad credit however will turn to payday loans, and there is a reason they have bad credit and this is normally related to their lack of ability to manage money. Take someone who is not good at managing money, give them a high interest loan and a long time to pay it off and it is very bad for the consumer.The final issue is that people also don’t use these loans for what they should be used for. This likely falls back to the poor money management part of things. People will take one of these loans out so they can buy a video game system or a new big TV, not to cover a necessity till the next paycheck. Basically this starts a spiral of debt on the heads of people who in general cannot afford it.