You should definitly provide a license agreement with the software.� By
default anyone who commissions work owns the intellectual property of
the work.� In other words, if you have written the application for a
client, then the full copyright of the application - including the right
to sell the application - belongs to the client.
�
When you provide a client with a application you must make it clear that
the client is purchasing a license to USE the application only, and that
you reserve all the ownership rights - ie the right to copy and
distribute.
�
If the application was written by you, and was NOT commissioned or paid
for by a client, then the copyright is yours.� Providing the program in
executable form to another party does not give away your copyright,
however it is always best to provide people who purchase your software a
description of the License you have provided to them... ie the right to
use the software.
�
I've been bitten by this before.� Its always best to get a clear
understanding when providing software.
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Lowman [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 1999 10:34 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list offtopic
Subject: [DUG-OFFTOPIC]: Software licensing
A question -
�
Do any of you have experience with software licensing ?
�
I sell software into a niche market and it has been suggested that I
provide some sort of license for each copy of the software that I supply
so that it is clear that the ownership of the software remains with me -
does anyone have any suggestions or comment in this regard.
�
Paul Lowman
software/hardware developer
Lowman Consulting
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