It is not unusual now a days to hire programmers from established places likeke Elance or ScriptLance. From an article to a megasoftware, everything can be outsourced with a click it’s still a good idea to draw up some kind of legal agreement. This not only safeguards your project but also saves you many wasted days and dollars.
If the project is big enough, you must consider seeing a lawyer. Whether you see a lawyer or not you must have an idea what to expect from your contract. If you know, you are in better position to bargain and you minimize the chances of being taken for a ride.
An agreement for such a purpose should be having following, at least
Confidentiality
The information you share with your programmer should stay between you. Most of the projects are sensitive kinds and may bring you into looser position if your programmer leaks the info.
With clause in place, you want to be sure you’re going to be compensated.
Payments
It should be very clear fro the beginning whether you are going to pay in cash and own all the rights or would like to share profits with your programmer. Everything should be written in clear terms. If you’re working on a profit-sharing model, you’ll have to negotiate who gets how much of the profits and for how long.
Time Period
A programmer should be able to give you expected time schedule for delivery of the product. While it is good to be flexible in case the problem crop up and drag your product but a written deadline is must so that your project is not unnecessarily delayed.
A legal contract is just a deterrence and does not mean that your programmer would follow it. That depends on him. And in spite of contract legal rounds can be very taxing. Therefore it is advisable to search for your programmer’s reputation in detail before you make your mind.
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Tags: confidentiality, elance, legal agreement, legal contract, programmer, scriptlance
A lot of people like to “share” the IP with the developer. In my opinion, this is always a mistake. If you ever want to sell your company, you’ll find that not have clear title to your IP puts you in a very untenable position.
Many companies end up having to go back years later to work out a deal with a developer that has some claim on their IP — putting the developer in a position to veto the deal if they haven’t received enough money.
The only thing worse would be to have no contract at all.