Glenn makes some great suggestions around the idea of mutually inclusive rights. We actually do the opposite of what Glenn suggests, but with nearly the same end-result. Our contract normally assigns ownership to the client, but then transfers unlimited license back to the developer. This has been a little easier to get through legal approval than the other way around. Sample wording...
"Any work product resulting from [Contractor's] services under this Agreement will become the property of [Client] and shall be considered to be a "work made for hire. [Client] hereby grants to [Contractor] a worldwide, royalty free, non-exclusive license in perpetuity to utilize the source code developed for [Client] under this Agreement." Doug Raymond ngenius media inc. [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.ngenius.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Glenn Crocker Sent: Monday, February 16, 2004 11:02 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [KCFusion] Intellectual property question Some ideas and recommendations from a non-lawyer: This goes to whether the work was done as a "work for hire". If you were a full-time contractor working on-site at the client building a custom set of cfm files for them, the work is pretty clearly theirs (in the absense of a contract). If you did the work at your own pace, in your own office, using your own equipment, then you can claim copyright much more easily. My recommendation would be to construct the contract now, in your favor, by: 1. Putting a 'Copyright 2004, Billy Cox' (or whatever) message in each cfm file 2. Writing up (or having a lawyer write up) a grant of perpetual non-exclusive license for your client. This has the substantial advantage of giving them something (clear license to the code) rather than taking something away (ownership of the copyright). You imply that they never had it, which maybe they didn't. In my firm, we own copyright to all code created, and grant clients license to use that code. This is always the case for reusable modules, but if a client wants to own the copyright on pages or code that are 90% specific to that client/project, that's fine with us. (From time to time, we'll sign a contract that grants the client ownership of the code, but only on projects where we wouldn't want the code anyhow, because little of it would be reusable.) Another situation where I grant copyright is where I'm doing product development for small businesses. If it's their product, they deserve to own it! (So if this CMS is your client's product, not just a tool they'll be using, they really need to own it.) -glenn > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Behalf Of Billy Cox > Sent: Monday, February 16, 2004 10:28 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [KCFusion] Intellectual property question > > > Let's say that I develop a content management application for a > client. The client provides images and content, I provide the layout, > navigational scheme and application that makes it all work. > > Without a contract to define otherwise, who owns what? > > I assume that the client owns content and images. Can the client also > claim ownership of the application (cfm) files and/or database? > > > Thanks. > > -Billy Cox > > _________________________________________________________________ > Find great local high-speed Internet access value at the MSN > High-Speed Marketplace. > http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200360ave/direct/01/ > > > ========================================================= > Kansas City ColdFusion User Group's website & listserv is hosted > through the generous support of Clickdoug.com To send email to the > list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send > an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with your request. > For hosting solutions http://www.clickdoug.com > Featuring Win2003 Enterprise, RedHat Linux, CFMX 6.1. > ====================================================== > ========================================================= Kansas City ColdFusion User Group's website & listserv is hosted through the generous support of Clickdoug.com To send email to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with your request. For hosting solutions http://www.clickdoug.com Featuring Win2003 Enterprise, RedHat Linux, CFMX 6.1. ====================================================== ========================================================= Kansas City ColdFusion User Group's website & listserv is hosted through the generous support of Clickdoug.com To send email to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with your request. For hosting solutions http://www.clickdoug.com Featuring Win2003 Enterprise, RedHat Linux, CFMX 6.1. ======================================================
