John,

I haven't been employed by my former employer for over 6 years now. So I haven't been employed by them for any part of this project. However, I have been their consultant and network admin for the last 4 years.

I started this project as a learning experience for myself. I didn't really think it would turn into anything. Turns out during it's development the client has had more and more need to automate report generation to their clients. They get responses from clients like "What do you mean you can't email me my reports." So they see the need desparately.

Thanks for the info and I will check out the links you suggested.

Elgin


>Elgin..
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>When you say your client is your former employer, when were you employed? Were you employed when you started the project and/or were you employed by them for a significant part of the project? I ask this because if that is the case, then your "client" technically owns if not all, then part of work.
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>If were were an independent contracter for 100% of the development, then chances are good you own it. It is not a slam dunk however. There are some old threads around here that discuss this issue. The Supreme Court of the United States formulated something that has been called the Reid Test to see whether the creator of intellectual property is acting in the bounds of an indepenent contractor or is really acting as an employee. The distinction is critical.
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>Absent an agreement to the contrary, software you create for a client, unless it is an addition to an existing software application, you still own.
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>My point is that you first need to establish what property rights you have. If you own it or some part of it, then it makes sense to go to the next stage of hammering out a contract.
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>As far as contract templates, there are a lot out there. Go to findlaw.com and from there, you can find all sorts of resouces.
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>However, as a lawyer-to-be, I don't recommend you go with a boiler plate/template-based contract. If a dispute rises, it is likely you will land in front of a judge or an arbitrator. The first thing that will have to be determined is whether the template contract actually embodies the true intention of the parties. If it does not, the court is unlikely to enforce the terms of the contract. The point is that a canned-contract does not obviate the need to read through it and perhaps augment it.
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>If you do go this route, here is a link:
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>http://www.contractedge.com/agree_custom_software.asp
>http://www.himels-computer-law.com/softwrks.htm
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>
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>My suggestion is to do 2 things.
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>First, right down what your current and future plans are. No need to try and be technical or legal here. Once you have all of this formulated, find a laywer who understands IP and the software business.
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>Only then will you have something tailored to your needs. And, as far as having your bases covered, it really does take an attorney to use the right language that will counteract the arguments the opposing side is likely to make.
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>Good luck...