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From: oster@dewey.soe.berkeley.edu (David Phillip Oster)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer,comp.software-eng
Subject: Work for Hire contracts
Message-ID: <25638@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: 15 Aug 88 02:11:08 GMT
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Organization: School of Education, UC-Berkeley
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An Open Letter to Contract Programmers.



Many contract programmers now work on a "Work for
Hire" basis, The definition of "Work for Hire" means
that all writings produced within the scope of our
employment are owned by our employers. "Work for
Hire" is completely unfair. Think twice before you
sign any "work for hire" contract, and better yet,
refuse to sign.



Contracts of this sort steal from us the very
professional competence that made us attractive to
our employers in the first place. 



In addition, there is a class of contract employees
who habitually produce works for companies,  and who
are never requested to sign such onerous contracts:
the very lawyers who write our contracts.



One test I use for the power of a software tool is
the Recursion Test: would this tool have been useful
in the creation of itself? Examples: It is easier to
write a C compiler in C than in assembly language.
It is easier to write a parser generator if you
already have a parser generator to express the input
language. In each case, the tool is worth writing
because it offers leverage in at least one task.



Now let's look at a "work for hire" contract. Let's
apply the Recursion Test to it.

A lawyer made a contract with the company to produce
that document. That lawyer certainly didn't accept a
work for hire agreement: it would have prevented him
from selling similar contracts to any other firm.
Why should you accept worse terms than the author of
the contract?



A lawyer and a programmer are both highly trained
professionals, well acquainted with the body of
knowledge that comprise our respective fields. Both
sell complete documents to companies, contracts in
one case, programs in the other. Both build their
personal experience, embodied in the components that
make up the complete works. Only the lawyer retains
the right to use those components in future works.
Why? Because we have not stood up for fair and equal
treatment.



Sign contracts that let firms buy our complete
products, but retain your ownership of the pieces.



Hold out for at least as good terms as the lawyers
who write the contracts we are expected to sign!

--- David Phillip Oster
Arpa: oster@dewey.soe.berkeley.edu
Uucp: {uwvax,decvax,ihnp4}!ucbvax!oster%dewey.soe.berkeley.edu