I sign nothing, i have no contracts, you can do what you want with my code. Usually within a day, I have come up with a better way anyway. Yes, drives everyone crazy, but what the heck. Makes life more fun that way. Anarchist at heart! :-)
On the other hand, if google hired me, I'd probably sign up in blood. Yipes! :-) On 1/14/07, tedd <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
At 4:56 PM -0500 1/13/07, Ken Downs wrote: >tedd <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> >> Do you see the common thread here? There are things you have control >> over and there are things that you don't -- and, you don't have much >> control over the net. So, if you're going to work on the net, then >> stop worrying about your code, let clients do what they want (in most >> cases they don't know anyway), and get on with your life. >> >> Sure, you can (and should) address the ownership aspect of your work >> product in your contracts, but realize that it's nearly a moot point >> when it comes to enforceability. >> > >Tedd, overall well put, but I would add one more detail. Sometimes >its not about enforceability but about expectations. A contract, >like a lock, only keeps honest people honest. But just as a lock >says, "you need permission to enter here", a contract stating >ownership of code indicates to the customer what kind of >relationship you expect. > >I can think of two cases where this came in very handy for me. In >one case the client objected strongly to a clause in my contract, >which hit to the very base of how I worked. Ultimately I had to let >that one go, as i figured he'd be an unprofitable customer. But >what if the contract had not raised this point, we went forward, and >then discovered how far apart we were in expectations? > >In a similar case the contract caused my client to ask a lot of >detailed questions that gave us a better understanding of each >other's position, and we have worked well together. > Yes, I agree totally and that's the reason why I said that you should address those concerns in your agreement, in whatever form that may be. Without exception, I always spell out what's important to me and try to explain in clear detail to the client as to what their rights and obligations are. I do this only for clarification and not for "under threat of law suit". You see, I spent over 20 years in continuous overlapping lawsuits -- while I made more money than I should have, it took it's toll and I never want to be in anther law suit in my life. You don't like doing business with me, or want your money back -- here it is. In fact, almost all my work is paid on approval. But, don't tell anyone that. :-) tedd -- ------- http://sperling.com http://ancientstones.com http://earthstones.com _______________________________________________ New York PHP Community Talk Mailing List http://lists.nyphp.org/mailman/listinfo/talk NYPHPCon 2006 Presentations Online http://www.nyphpcon.com Show Your Participation in New York PHP http://www.nyphp.org/show_participation.php
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