The three sorts of virtual corporations raise only partly overlapping problems. All three involve the interesting management problem that for all the speed and informality of email, people need to see each other now and again to really feel part of the same enterprise, and to avoid misunderstandings. Alone among the three, the Temporary Alliance sort of virtual corporation raises issues of how trade secrets can be preserved among participating companies that, at least outside of their temporary collaboration, may be fierce competitors. Telecommuting Corporations raise workplace safety and privacy issues resulting from the fact that their employees work at home. Unlike the other types, they combine the legal issues raised by employees who work at home with other issues raised by their typical lack of a real physical headquarters.
Most traditional corporations incorporate where all their operations are located.
But revenue hungry states are increasingly finding that intangible connections are sufficient. These problems can even follow a corporation, so that after it is sold the successor corporation will bear them. Some states allow the disqualification of the right to sue to be cured as long as the corporation obtains a Certificate of Authority, and pays back taxes and any related fines and late fees. Before granting a Certificate of Authority to a foreign corporation, a state checks its name against a list containing the names of corporations incorporated there, and the names of those doing business there. Since the mid-1980s, many states have broadened their sales tax laws to include computer software.