Subj : Re: Protecting your code To : comp.programming From : Alan Balmer Date : Mon Aug 01 2005 09:25 am On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 13:26:30 +0100, Gerry Quinn wrote: >In article <8male1hgcmoe5nphtnvken8rd1d5p1n3n1@4ax.com>, >minime@uoft.com says... > >> PS: the country where he lives doesn't care much about copyright and >> non disclosure whatever :-). > >This is a problem. > >If he won't finish the work, don't pay him and instead hire somebody >you can trust to honour an NDA. > >Consider first however whether it is you that is at fault - if you are >not a programmer how do you know you have given him all the information >he needs? (I'm not saying you don't - just make sure of it.) > >As for securing your idea and code - the code is copyright as is your >released executable version. A word of warning. In the US, and I believe all countries which signed the Berne Convention, the code is copyrighted, all right, but it's the *programmer* who holds the copyright, not the person who hired him. This is true unless the programmer is a bona fide employee, which is clearly not the case here. This type of programming should be done only under a written contract. The contract can specify that all copyrights will be assigned to the client. > But if the programming is the main part >of the product and you don't trust the programmers not to immediately >go into production with a clone, the only solution is to have them sign >an appropriate legal contract in advance, in a country where it will be >worth something. (They may also be more expensive, of course...) > >- Gerry Quinn -- Al Balmer Balmer Consulting removebalmerconsultingthis@att.net .