Copyright or intellectual property
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I have done a project for one company in the Netherlands as microISV. This project works fine without problems more than year now at airport. I never signed any approval or transfer of my intellectual property or copyrights to my code to his company and I was never asked to do it before. This Tuesday working on another project he ended collaboration with me. Now he asks me to give him a letter that all copyrights for projects I worked on belongs to his company. He blocks to pay my last two invoices if I will not do that. Your opinions or experiences are welcome. Regards, Stefan
I worked for a company that pulled stunts like this. They always has 'cash flow' problems, so would do anything to prevent paying an invoice, and would only pay when a bailif turned up. They were UK based and some customers abroad, e.g. one I know of in Germany, were owed several thousand pounds. But the cost of suing in the UK for them was prohibitive, so they never did. BTW they are now bankrupt, don't forget if you sue all that person has to do, in the UK at least if he is a LTD. company, is to close the company down, and you get nothing and you will have pay your own solicitors costs as well.
"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't." - Anatole France
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When you say you have copyrights do you have the code with the copyright notice posted on a public site? If not what is stopping him from editing the copyright notice to have his name in it? He is not acting in good faith so do not underestimate the depths he will sink to. Since it is source code you probably don't want to post the code in plain text, but if you have the code, and you should always keep a copy of the code, you can post the copyright notice in plain text and a hash value, or values, of the code here, a public forum, along with a statement saying what that hash value is representing, what algorithm was used to calculate them and that you are posting it to verify your copyrights. Use someone else’s code so there are no question about the results and use strong algorithms, I would recommend MD5 and SHA256. Search for articles here about hash values, there are a few, and download the code. State the source of the code so if the court wants to verify it independently they can. If it comes down to legal action post the same in a local newspaper. Personal ads are an inexpensive way to verify ownership. Start the ad and the web posting with ***Public Notice***. Keep copies for your files. Additionally, make a printout of the source code and mail it, by registered mail, to yourself. Actually, mail a few copies, in separate envelopes, to yourself so that you have backup. Registered mail is inexpensive so it is reasonable to have a few copies, three should be enough. If the matter ever goes to court and he claims that he owns the copyright you can have the registered letter entered as evidence and then opened in front of the judge and jury. This is your hold card so don't tip your hand outside of court. Try to negotiate with him for an out of court settlement before going to court, but if you must go to court let him make false statements and then produce this documentation in rebuttal. Also send all correspondence to him by registered mail. He will start to look at you a little differently when he knows that you are developing a case against him. Start now to send him a notice every week asking demanding payment in full along with accounting fees for having to process his overdue account. Remember to send these notices by registered mail so you don't give him any wiggle room to say he did not receive them. If the account goes unpaid for a reasonable time (a month or two) start to threaten legal action. If he does not reply to you, inform him (by regist
Thanks Jimmy, That is every comprehensive advice which will certainly help. I hope that nobody else will ever have to stay in similar position as me now, but maybe your advices will help the others as well, now or in future. Stefan
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Thanks Jimmy, That is every comprehensive advice which will certainly help. I hope that nobody else will ever have to stay in similar position as me now, but maybe your advices will help the others as well, now or in future. Stefan
Unfortunately, if you work as an independent contractor, in this, or any other business, sometimes having to write off bad invoices is just another part of doing business. You adjust your rates accordingly. Fortunately, if you have a contract the occurrence is very low compared to the number of contracts that pay all that is due. You will have to make a decision based on a cost/benefit analysis. Do not make a decision on personal feelings. I know you feel your trust has been violated, but you may have to consider it the cost of gaining experience. Hopefully, in the future you will learn a bit of contract law, essential if you are going to sign contracts, and not work without a contract in hand. That is another topic that deserves comprehensive coverage but not essential to your current circumstances. The cost of going to court is pretty high and the potential rewards may not be worth the cost of pursuing it further. That is why I limited my suggestions to things that do not cost very much and if they get him to pay up they will be worth it. Going further may not, but do not show that you may not follow through. You have to put on your best poker face and give it a shot. You have very little to loose provided you do not contract professional legal services. I don't know how it is in Europe, but in the US if you are out of work and you do not show very much personal worth you qualify for legal assistance, free of charge. If that is available to you it would be good to avail yourself of the services. Consider it your taxes at work, which you will undoubtedly have paid and/or will pay in the future. Your case may be complicated because he is in an EU country and you are not (different judicial systems). Regardless, sending a few registered letters does not cost very much and if it gets what is due to you then it will be worth it. Good luck. I would rather have my teeth drilled than do system testing! JimmyRopes