Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mac.programmer:2104 comp.software-eng:759 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!rutgers!pyrnj!esquire!sbb From: sbb@esquire.UUCP (Stephen B. Baumgarten) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer,comp.software-eng Subject: Re: Work for Hire contracts Message-ID: <559@esquire.UUCP> Date: 16 Aug 88 16:08:23 GMT References: <496@hudson.acc.virginia.edu> <25636@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <25638@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <6682@umn-cs.cs.umn.edu> Reply-To: sbb@esquire.UUCP (Stephen B. Baumgarten) Distribution: na Organization: DP&W, New York, NY Lines: 23 In article <6682@umn-cs.cs.umn.edu> imp@crayview.msi.umn.edu (Chuck Lukaszewski) writes: >I've been burned and I've had some good experiences in doing contract work. >I know the legal ramifications. And I think that it is a very reasonable way >of doing the work. Besides, most companies won't hear of not owning the soft- >ware that the contract out. What happens when you get hit by a train and you >are the only posessor of the source code to XYZ company's accounting package? >No, as the president of a computer-aware company that is unacceptable to me. There's a difference between owning a software package and having the source code to it. We have Pyramid's Unix source, but we sure don't own it. We also have the source to a blacklining program a consultant wrote for us; while he owns it and can sell it to other firms, we reserve the right to maintain it ourselves should he ever decide to abandon us as a customer. Of course, we also have the right to sue him off the face of the Earth, should that happen (one of the advantages of being a law firm). Sometimes it's better to be hit by a train... :-) -- Steve Baumgarten | "New York... when civilization falls apart, Davis Polk & Wardwell | remember, we were way ahead of you." {uunet,cmcl2}!esquire!sbb | - David Letterman