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sellig software and lecensing issues
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 2:22 pm
by Behnood
hi
i didn't sell any software as an individual yet. but recently i finished a program (in vb by the way) that some of our partners are interested about it.
as i didn't now much about licensing issues, i need information about this. do i have to get a lawyer or something like that, register it somewhere, or anything else?
thanks for any help
regards
Behnood
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 8:53 pm
by Behnood
almost disappointed! i though there is so many developers and they may be have something for me.
any way still waiting
regards
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 10:08 pm
by dracflamloc
You will probably want to hire a lawyer or if you are good enough to understand law, find some kind of boilerplate agreement and license terms you can copy and modify to suit your needs.
If you plan on selling them the source code for the program as well as the binary then I would definitly hire a lawyer to ensure they cant use the source code in ways you dont want.
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 10:35 pm
by Shannara
Another thing, is if this is downloadable, and a person is to buy it, the license you choose must be viewed before the purchase is made or it is void. A decent lawyer will basically tell you the same.
Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:33 am
by Behnood
sorry
Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:35 am
by Behnood
so you mean if i put the down loadable version on a site , the license agreement must be sign(click) before download?
by the way right now I'm not at something like shareware but that's good to know.
so if i just make a license agreement that fit what i want it's enough?
regards
Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:41 am
by Shannara
It also depends what country your business is based in. For example, in the USA, a license is basically a contract between the buyer and the seller (usually a company). (So is a bill of sale, receipt). Therefore, if you are planning on (for example) selling software as commercial software. Before the person pays the price (clicks on paypal or whatever), they must click/sign the license agreement, IF you want to have any chance of forcing the license.
In other words, if there is no license agreement they must agree to before buying the product, then it is null and void. Exceptions are ..
If your business is in a country where the license agreement is in effect whether it is presented at the time of perchase or after. I think France *may* be such a country because there are NO licenses shown when purchasing PureBasic. But because you and I bought the software from them, the we must obey the laws of the country
Anyways, I had a long talk with my IP lawyer concerning this. And it's the real deal. The only other exception is the so called, "Shrink Wrap License". And thats where the software cd and manual is shrinked wrap and the license is showing through the wrap.
If you need more examples or links, lemme know. Groklaw is a nice place too.
Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:38 pm
by Behnood
thnaks so much for your quick and useful help
Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 5:54 pm
by Shannara
Just please remember (As I was warned of this many times as well), you cannot really take anybody's advice on these forums concerning the law. Well, you can for a general feel, but its always best to have an Attourney (as DracFlamLoc mentioned). Because, at least, if you ever do end up in court, you can have an attourney to back you up
