A dummy corporation, dummy company, or false company is an entity created to serve as a front or cover for one or more companies. It can have the appearance of being real (logo, website, and sometimes employing actual staff), but lacks the capacity to function independently. The dummy corporation's sole purpose is to protect "an individual or another corporation from liability in either contract or import". Typically, dummy companies are established in an international location—usually by the creator's "attorney or bagman"—to conceal the true owner of the often-illegitimate and empty company.