RE: homemade inkjet printer head

From: Bathsheba Grossman (sheba@bathsheba.com)
Date: Sat Jun 08 2002 - 07:40:23 EEST


On Fri, 7 Jun 2002, Jonathan Handel wrote:
> At 07:00 PM 06/07/2002, Lamar Davidge wrote:
> >... As I
> >understand it when a company places an order for a RP part, you agree to
> >sell them the final product, they own it you don't. Or did you agree to
> >allow them the use of the part you created? Don't they own the original
> >design?
>
> The answer to these questions may be unclear or unsatisfactory unless the
> contract specifically addresses these issues.
>
> If you pay someone hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop custom
> software to your specs, you own a copy of the software, but THEY, not you,
> own the copyright, the source code and the right to sell, copy and create
> derivative works - EVEN if you designed the algorithm - UNLESS you have a
> written contract with them that specifies otherwise (a work for hire
> agreement). It's easy to get burned.

I'll say. Software is a scary field, not least because the developer
can't help retaining the knowledge, regardless of what the contract
says.

But is there much ambiguity in the situation where a client sends me
(in my service bureau hat) a CAD design, and I build it for them? I
think we'd all be surprised to learn that I had gained any rights to
their design by this transaction, even if there is no contract. Or,
conversely, that I had violated their rights to the design by doing
the job.

I've assumed this was clear-cut, but perhaps it isn't. Do I need a
contract when I go to Kinko's and have a guy make some xeroxes for me?

-- 
-Sheba
Bathsheba Grossman                                         (831) 429-8224
Sculpture                                                   bathsheba.com
Creative prototyping                                       protoshape.com

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