Your contract can specify ownership and licensing terms -- that will
override any "legal defaults". For work I do specifically for a client, I
retain ownership but give them a very broad range of rights, usually
including the right to make derivative works from what I have done for them.
I wouldn't give that range of rights for a base application that I'd already
done, similar to yours, and given that the customization is done to that
base application, I suspect I would grant them rather restricted rights (and
would charge a licensing fee for the base application in addition to the fee
for customizing).
Because the wording to do that is not "intuitive", I would most likely
consult with an attorney who specializes in patent, copyright, and
intellectual property law -- any lesser attorney would hardly be worth your
time.
Larry
"robert d via AccessMonster.com" <u6836@uwe> wrote in message
news:59ab45ad47a3c@uwe...[color=blue]
> I'm a fledgling developer and am just starting to get my app out to
> specific
> clients.
> I have been asked to bid on a project because my app already does over 90%
> of
> what the client wants. My question is with regards to pricing of the
> proposal.
>
> It seems like I should include a license fee for my app as it currently is
> in
> the pricing section of the proposal. If I don't do this, then they might
> claim that they paid for everything as customization, even though over 90%
> already existed as a product currently for sale by my company. Ownership
> of
> my app then could come into play (although other clients are using the app
> currently, so I could easily argue and provide evidence that it was
> already
> an existing product)
>
> But I'm unclear on the customization part. Clearly I have to charge for
> hours expended to do the customization. But who owns the customization?
> Can
> I include that customization as part of my baseline app, which I sell to
> other customers (I'm talking customized functionality not anything really
> specific to the client like labels that they like on forms, etc.).
>
> Even if I can't use the customized part, because they claim ownership,
> that
> part is useless to them without my app. So, I'm just not sure.
>
> I'd like some input from experienced developers. Of course it is
> understood
> that you are not providing any legal advice and I need to do my own due
> diligence as well as retain competent legal advice. I'm just looking for
> anecdotal experience.
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> Message posted via AccessMonster.com
>
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