Interesting  article in Venture Law Lines on what usually takes too much time in startup financing deals and what is usually not given adequate attention. I’d tend to agree, particularly on one:

1. Registration rights (Some VCs still require these in early stage companies, although mercifully this is a declining trend)

I can’t recall a single instance of anyone actually invoking a demand right (or for that matter any other right) under a registration rights agreement. That being said, its primarily a US oriented document so there may be some in the US I’m not aware of (if you know of one please do let me know in the comments).

That being said, if too much time is spent on reg rights, the question still remains as to whether it should be cut out altogether, or, given the very low probability it will be exercised, whether to avoid a long drawn out debate and sign it and move on. Needless to say, these two perspectives are usually the ones that result in the discussion taking longer than it should…