This section of the forum is for discussing the business and finance issues of the t-shirt industry. Which business structure to use (sole proprietor, LLC, S Corp, etc), how to handle billing, where to register your business and get the proper licensing, etc.
I know some stuff like registering business and getting a sellers permit but is there any other stuff I have to do before launching my business on a website? If I hire artists to design for me can I buy the rights to the work?
If the name of my company is on the shirts do I have to trademark it even though it's legal registered?
If you "hire" them as employees you already own the rights. if you are just paying them to do the work then yes you have to purchase the rights from them or pay some type of royalty
If you're in California you might need to look into a garment license. It's pretty confusing stuff. I believe that if you have no employees other than yourself you shouldn't need to get a garment license. Not 100% sure though. You can take a look here How to obtain a garment registration certificate
For e-distribution all is required is a fictitious name as long as you do not have any employee's. If you have any employee's or payroll, then it is a totally different ball game. You will need a business license and the garment registration certificate. You do not necessarily have to pay any outsourcing royalties as long as they copyright the item them self and sell it to you, I had a similar situation with a photo shoot. This is the best way to go because you then own the design and no matter how many you sell you keep more of the profit.
Legal work to do before operating business? 
