The Basics of Copyright Law

Copyright laws basically grant intellectual property rights and ownership to the creators of non-tangible items such as novels, music, website content and more. It can be applied to anything online – text, art, graphics, photos and music. This can also include software.

Copyright law gives the owner of the material five basic rights. These rights are:

• Reproduction Rights – Only the owner can determine who has the right to duplicate the work.
• Modification Rights – Only the owner has the right to modify the original to create a new work. An example of modification to a preexisting work is if you were to alter a photograph. Unless you own the rights to that photo, you could be in copyright violation.
• Distribution Rights – This concerns the right to distribute copies of the work, whether by selling them or giving them away. This is especially relevant to software developers who make their living by creating and selling software.

These three rights are the most important rights concerning software developers and licensing. The other two rights covered under copyright law are:

• Public Performance Right – Involving the right to perform the material (such as a song or script) to the public.
• Public Display Right – Similar to the Public Performance Right, this right involves displaying any images or video clips to the public.

If you work as a software developer, anything you create is solely yours to distribute and reproduce under copyright law. When you choose to grant permission to others to use the software or reproduce it – by installing it on another computer, for example – you are granting them license. When clients purchase software, they are generally purchasing licenses, not the actual ownership of the software. The ownership still belongs to you, the creator.

A great example of this is purchasing the Microsoft Office Suite for your office. If you have five computers that need the Microsoft Suite, you will purchase five licenses. This will allow you to install the Microsoft Suite up to five times.

For more information on copyright law, read this detailed explanation from contract and legal document experts, Contract Edge.

Legal Protection for Network Service Providers

A Network Service Provider (NSP) works hand in hand with the companies that provide actual internet access. The NSP will structure the flow of the internet access so that all computers/users within an organization are able to access the internet. Network Service Providers are responsible for expanding the company’s infrastructure as their needs grow and ensuring that the data provided from the ISP is easily accessible and readily available at all times.

If a company’s network goes down, it can often times mean a massive loss in revenue due to its employees not being able to fulfill their jobs adequately, loss of intra/interoffice communications and many other issues. As a NSP, you do not want to be held responsible for any downtimes associated with the network infrastructure you provided.

No matter what the scope of your job is, whether you provide network services to small or large businesses, the legal aspects of your contract must be clearly defined. Well written contracts will eliminate any doubt as to who will be held liable should the network go down for an extended period of time and lead to significant revenue loss. Furthermore, making certain that you are insured should a liability suit be brought against you will help to alleviate the financial responsibility placed solely on you as an individual.

It is a good idea, whenever going into a new job as a Network Service Provider, that the contract is clearly defined and that you are adequately insured. No matter who is at fault, if the contract states that you are responsible, you will be an easy target for a company to potentially pin their losses upon.

Top 7 Provisions Needed in a Staffing Agency Employment Agreement

Staffing and employment agencies are in a unique situation when it comes to employment agreements. Unlike a regular employer-employee business relationship, staffing agencies do business by loaning out their employees to other companies. The employees are technically considered independent contractors and are paid through the staffing agency, not through the client.

This obviously presents some tricky legal issues. How do you protect your agency from poachers? If your independent contractors are performing like they should be, client companies will often want to hire them on permanently. As a staffing agency that needs reliable people you can trust, you want to hold on to your employees as much as possible.

One way to do this is through setting up clearly stated, well written, quality employment agreements and contracts that establish some rules regarding an employee’s working relationship with a client. You can include provisions that prohibit solicitation from both parties (your client and your employee) beyond the scope of the job they were hired to do.

Here’s a list of the ten most important provisions that should be included and clarified prior to the commencement of any work being performed:

1. Scope of Services – clearly define, as specifically as possible, what work will be performed by the employee for the client. If the contractor will be expected to answer phones while at the position, include that in the contract. If it’s not included, the contractor should not be expected to do it.

2. Price and Payment Terms – as with any business agreement, it’s important that the price and how payment will be collected are discussed and agreed upon before any work is performs.

3. Employee Solicitation/Hiring – be very clear that solicitation of contractors will not be tolerated and is in violation of their contract.

4. Term and Termination – identify the time window in which your employee will be working for the client and what the end date will be for work performed.

5. Intellectual Property – who has the rights to any work performed or created by your employee while working for your client?

6. Confidential Information – a non-disclosure agreement never hurts here. Assure clients that any and all information a contractor is privy to during his or her time at the client company is confidential and treated as sensitive information.

7. Limitation of Liability – clarify what your staffing agency and contractors will be liable for. This is a good time for a liability agreement stating what you are directly liable for.

Importance of Contract Writing Professionals

Well Written Contracts Only Please!

If you work primarily in the IT field, it makes sense to use contracts that have been written by attorneys specializing in the IT field. I have heard many stories from those in the field that constantly turn to the “easiest” option when it comes to the drafting of their legal contracts and rarely do those stories end well. I always take great care to ensure that the contracts that bind my services and the services of those doing work for me have been tailor made to my exact field. A well written document protects me as an entrepreneur and it also ensures that the little differences between contracting in different fields do not get overlooked.

Protect Intellectual Property With a Non-Disclosure Agreement

Non-disclosure Agreements (NDA) are crucial to ensuring the protection of your intellectual property. When you take a job on or when you contract out work a NDA helps to cover your liabilities. With a NDA in place you can feel safer discussing your project with a contractor; and inversely, your clients can feel comfortable working on their project with you. I use a non-disclosure agreement every single time I hire a contractor, or every time I am hired to perform a job for someone else. I do it to protect myself from any legal issues that might arise as the result of the unauthorized use of either party’s intellectual property.

I like to use NDA’s in my work because I do not want to worry about what my sub-contractors might or might not do with my client’s information. Worrying about meeting deadlines and beating competitor’s quotes are enough for me to worry about on a daily basis.

NDA’s are also a great selling point when it comes to discussing a new contract. Letting them know I am ready and willing to use a NDA is sometimes that extra push that closes a deal.

Software Development Contracts 101

If you’ve decided to outsource a software development project and now need to sign a contract, here are a few basic things to keep in mind. This is not legal advice, rather it’s compilation of a few things I found helpful for my own experiences.

First, make sure your project is well-defined. If you are having an e-commerce application developed, see that your development contract clearly states all of the functionality and the user interface (UI) completely. It is also good to clarify what process your developer will use throughout the process. This way you can easily monitor your project’s progress. By explicitly detailing your project, you are more likely to have your project completed correctly and in a timely fashion. As part of this process, make sure you define the documentation process. Clear and accurate documentation is a necessity, and without it your project can easily become bogged down.

Secondly, you are going to want to cover the software’s licenses. Who owns the work product? Is the software completely proprietary? What, if any, open source software projects are going to be used to help piece your project together? If you do not completely understand all of the license issues for your software, make sure you retain legal counsel.

Thirdly, ensure that the payment process is clearly spelled out. Check into what assurances you will receive from your software developers as to their financial viability. I had a project that was completely lost when our development firm was sued by a prior client and subsequently went bankrupt. These are important topics that should be addressed with your developer before committing to a business agreement.

Confirm that you have a warranty on your product. Code breaks. Make sure you have some reasonable expectations that your product will be reliable for a reasonable amount of time.

If this is your first time getting involved with a software development contract, make sure you use professional assistance. I would not suggest writing a software development contract on your own. Best of luck on your project and remember: you’ve turned to the experts to create your software. You might as well use experts to make sure your contract is also done correctly too.

Legal Forms Websites – What to Look For

If I tried to woo potential clients without showing them a portfolio, or even a testimonial, how would I be able to land any business? It would be great if I could just tell people that I know web design inside and out and I’ll show them after they pay me.  The same is true for legal form websites: you need to know what you’re getting before you pay for it. There are many sites out there that provide existing contract templates and agreements for web designers, so make sure you use a company that won’t surprise you.

Ideally, a legal forms website should explain what will be included in their contracts in advance and show you the outline of what you are buying.  Using online legal form templates is a huge timesaver if you have no idea how to create a valid web design agreement.  Once you’ve downloaded the software, you can edit the agreements to your own specifications and then use it right away.  Using a service like this is so much better than paying twenty dollars for a .PDF that you know is just being resold to you in the first place.  Plus, once you’ve downloaded the software that contains the contracts and agreements, you can re-use them anytime – just edit to your specifications & go!

Ways to Ensure Payment for Independent Contractors

You have a prospective client or a project on the line and now all you have to do is close the deal.  How do you bid the project out?  What is the best way to quote a rate?  There might not be a 100% surefire method, but I have a few techniques I have found helpful.

A lot of my bidding and rate quoting is based on personal knowledge and proximity to my prospective employer.  When I am able to meet people face-to-face, I am usually able to gauge their interest in working with me and their general budgetary concerns.  When I work with long-distance clients or with clients via internet, I usually have to spell my rates out more clearly and my closing rate isn’t nearly as great as my in-person clients.

Working as an independent contractor, I always ask for a certain percentage upfront on all jobs over $500.  I generally ask for one-third upfront.  That just ensures that my client is serious, fully engaged in the process, and it makes it next to impossible for client not to pay.

Once I have completed the first phase of proofs, I usually collect the second third of the project.  I have found this makes setting appointments with clients to review their project much easier.  It also makes it difficult for clients to take my design work and develop it themselves.

After the project is completed to the client’s satisfaction, I give them the final bill with any and all necessary corrections.  It is not uncommon for clients to initially want to put in some “sweat” equity on their project.  Very often when it comes time for clients to deliver their end of the bargain, they do not.  That is why I have to correct their final bill.  I always promise to keep their final bill within ten percent of the original estimate unless I have received their written consent.

As an independent contractor, I use these steps if I am billing out on an hourly rate or for a fixed rate.  I find it useful to estimate the number of hours it will take me to complete an entire job.  This is helpful for the client so they know what to expect and it helps me to budget my time.

Nailing down your client’s budgetary concerns and needs as soon as possible can be extremely helpful.  If your client is asking for something that cannot be achieved within their intended budget, you need to either decide to take a hit on the project or let them know.  Being open and honest is always the best policy.  Part of being open is being willing to find new, creative ways to complete a project within your client’s budget.

What To Do When a Breach of Contract Occurs

Material Breach?

Breaches of contract can often turn into a confusing maze of questions and legal concerns, leaving you feeling lost and full of questions: What can I do when a contract has been breached?  Who do I turn to?  Where do I go from here?

First off, you have to be sure that there is, in fact, a breach of contract.  Once you determine if there is a breach; you have to assess to what degree or extent the contract has been breached.  Is it a minor breach?  Is it a material breach?  Is it a fundamental breach?  Is it an anticipatory breach?

Who do you turn to?  Well, that depends on more factors that cannot be easily redressed in a simple blog post.  If you have a decent understanding of your principle contract and the matter is, at most, a few thousand dollars, representing yourself in small claims court might be the best course of action. An attorney can provide counsel to help you determine if small claims court is right for you. If the matter is for a larger sum of money, for a slander issue, or if the issue(s) pertain to intellectual property rights, your first course of action should be to retain counsel.

If you decide to go it on your own, here are a few simple suggestions.  Again, this is not legal advice.  Determine where in your contract breaches have occurred.  Call those breaches to the attention of the party in breach.  Be sure to create a paper trail.  Do not make any inflammatory statements or any statements lacking facts or proof.  The last thing you want to do is make slanderous statements or accusations and exacerbate the situation.  Keep a cool and level head and if you are not able to come to an amicable resolution, turn the issue over to professionals.

Remember if you have a well written, solidly binding contract you should never find yourself with any breach-of-contract issues.  Planning and forethought go a long way.  Finally, avoid legal battles whenever possible. Long legal battles will only hurt you in the end.

The Importance of Defining Contracts and Business Agreements

Define your project.  Project management is extremely crucial to success.  If you are being paid a lump sum or have quoted a specified number of hours for a project it becomes even more important to manage time efficiently.  Any extra time it takes you can cut into your profit margin.  Before you accept a project, make sure that the project is spelled out completely and that all of the involved parties agree on what the project will entail.

I can’t hammer this point home enough.  It is very easy to agree to do something for a client and then half-way through the project realize your expectations and your clients are way off base.  Since the customer is always right, you end up spending extra time reworking or fixing the project to your client’s newly defined specifications.  The best way to avoid this scenario is with a clear, accurate and explicitly complete contract.  If you are building a web page, don’t just assume what content will go where or how it will be delivered.  Make sure that content, at least in a place holder form, is included in your contract.  Spell out how the “about” section will be displayed for end users.  Making assumptions is a cardinal sin to be avoided at all costs.  Without clearly defined boundaries and explanations in place, the life of an independent contractor is hell.  The reason people are contracting with you is that you can do something they can’t or you offer a more cost-effective option.  I’ve learned to always be wary of clients.  Even the best clients are only as good as their last payment.  That might come off as cynical but once you’ve been in the game long enough, you realize idealism is reserved for rookies.  In real life, clients are looking out for their best interests and so are you.  Sure, both parties want to work together in harmony.  The best way to ensure that beautiful harmony is with a well defined contract in place.

Once you have your amazing contract in place, it is up to you to achieve the objectives stated in the contract.  I find a well written contract leads to smooth deadlines and easily achievable goals.  That leads to higher productivity and satisfied clients.  Satisfied clients are return clients and referrals in waiting.  There isn’t any better business then return business.