<div dir="ltr">Hi,<div><br></div><div>Thank you for the thoughts, all very sound, and appreciated.</div><div>I am currently investigating to find the correct legal representative, as I think this to be important.<br></div><div><br></div><div><div>Great opportunity, or a great way for me to loose out, if not done right!<br></div></div><div><br></div><div>Regards</div><div>Lucas</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Feb 13, 2015 at 12:37 AM, Evert van Dijk <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:evert@silver-sword.com" target="_blank">evert@silver-sword.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
First up,<br>
congratulations.<br>
<br>
Second; this requires a good lawyer. Someone who is familiar with
contract law, international law and intellectual property. It might
require a team.<br>
<br>
I am not a lawyer and this does not intend to replace legal advise.<br>
Not all lawyers are scary and they are not out to hurt you or your
business. But like hairdressers you need to have a good one. Try and
find one that people are prepared to recommend to you.<br>
<br>
<br>
You will need to determine how much of the software (sourcecode,
methodology, graphics, etc) you want to keep. Do you have a patent
on any parts of the the software? Is it possible that the German
company will try and patent your methods in Germany or Europe. Or
for that matter any sort of your Intellectual Property?<br>
<br>
You will also need to have it clearly outlined how it is determined
how much you will get for each sold unit. And what determines
'sold', I did read a case study where a large well-known software
developer licensed a piece of software and promised the developers a
cut of each sold copy. Except that the software ended up being
bundled and no copies were ever 'sold'.<br>
<br>
You will also need to know how much you might be liable for if your
software is used for illegal purposes (ie drug manufacturing,
weapons manufacturing) or if your software is deemed responsible for
a major breakdown. I imagine that these things are easily mitigated
by adding this to the license you set up with the German
distributor/ developer but I just don't know German law.<br>
<br>
I hope I do not scare you away from pursuing this, it can be a great
opportunity. Do a bit of a cost/benefit analysis if this is likely
to bring in a reasonable income then you will want to spend more
time and money making sure it is set up properly. If you are likely
to get pocket change (due to low sales or low per item cost) then
you might want to look at a different license than a per item sold.
I mean if they promise a per sold unit license does that mean they
are then also going to send you a weekly sales report so you can
bill them?<br>
<br>
<br>
Again, congratulations and good luck<br>
<br>
Evert<div><div class="h5"><br>
<br>
<br>
<div>On 12/02/2015 23:46, Lucas van staden
wrote:<br>
</div>
</div></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div class="h5">
<div dir="ltr">Hello off-topic plug list people.
<div>Been a long time since I posted to this list (if at all)<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>So, direct to the point.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I am developer. </div>
<div>Simply put, I don't know much else (and Linux, of course) </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I created some software.<br>
</div>
<div>It is really irrelevant what this software is, but to note
that it has caused a bit of a stir in the relevant community
where it is used.<br>
</div>
<div>I sell this software on-line, and sales are doing ok, and
picking up gradually.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>A company, based in Berlin, has recently made contact with
the proposal to sell my software in Germany.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Their basic premise is:</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex"><span style="font-size:13px">We want you to licence us to use your
source code as a basis for a new product that is<br>
</span><span style="font-size:13px">tailored for a German
audience. The product would have a different name and would
have nothing to do with your company.<br>
</span><span style="font-size:13px">We would pay you a licence
fee for every sold unit. We want to buy your technology like
a car manufacturer buys components from<br>
</span><span style="font-size:13px">other companies.Your
copyright would never be questioned or touched. We really
have good intentions and don't want to harm your reputation.</span></blockquote>
<div><br>
</div>
<div> The company itself seems legit.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>So, If I proceed with this, I would most definitely need
legal help.</div>
<div>Any recommendations?</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>TIA</div>
<div>Lucas</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<fieldset></fieldset>
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