[Hidden-tech] agreement to protect website ?

[Maria Korolov Trombly]

Mark, Margot --

If the developer does any creative work at all -- design, writing, coding,
etc... -- have them sign a "work for hire" agreement under which all
creative rights belong to you.

This should be a standard part of any vendor agreement you have. For
example, if you hire someone to design your corporate logo, by default, the
copyright to that logo will belong to them -- unless they sign it over to
you. A "work for hire" agreement means that the copyright is owned by the
person who paid for it.

If you are dealing with contractors overseas, you should add something
like, "In jurisdictions where work for hire does not apply, the vendor
assigns all rights to the purchaser." In an "all rights" contract the
vendor originally has the copyright -- but then turns the whole thing over
to the buyer. In a "work for hire" contract the vendor never gets these
rights in the first place. Not really a huge difference practically, but as
someone buying creative work, you want the strongest possible language on
your side.

If the work you're getting has source files -- original drawings that the
artist scanned in to create your logo, interviews with your customers that
a copywriter did for your website, source code in the case of computer
programs -- you would want to get those source materials as well, in case
you have to switch vendors -- having the source materials can make it
easier for the next guy to do their work.

A contract doesn't have to be long -- a paragraph with everyone's
signatures is enough. But it's also a good opportunity to spell out
deliverables, completion dates, cost of follow-up services, etc...

- Maria



[image: Maria Trombly Twitter headshot.jpg]
____________________________________________________
Maria Korolov •  508-443-1130 • maria at tromblyinternational.com
President, *Trombly International <http://www.tromblyinternational.com/>* •
COO, *China Speakers Bureau*
 <http://www.china-speakers-bureau.com/>Editor & Publisher, *Hypergrid
Business* <http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/>


On Tue, Dec 13, 2011 at 7:43 AM, Mark Firehammer <mark at techeffective.net>wrote:

>   ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>   ** If you did, we all thank you.
>
>
>
> Hi Margot,
> If you do just 3 things, site ownership is not even an issue that needs to
> be discussed.
>
>    1. Make sure the hosting account is your account. This means if a
>    developer tries to hold you up for whatever reason they can't lock you out
>    of your hosting account.
>    2. Register your domain name in your own account that you pay for for
>    the same reason as above.
>    3. Don't sign any agreements that give ownership rights to the
>    developer.
>
> In short, as long as you control the accounts that hold your domain name,
> sites files and database you are firmly in control at all times and are the
> owner by virtue of possession!
> I also recommend having an automated database and site file backup system
> that puts both of those into another location such as Amazon S3. This
> protects you from permanent loss of your site due to a malicious act of
> deletion by a mean spirited or disgruntled developer. None of this is hard
> and can be setup in a matter of minutes.*
>
> *I hope that's helpful.*
>
> Mark Firehammer*
> *New Number: 413 341-6888
> 413 303 0315 # will turn off 12/31/11
> Scheduler Link: *Schedule an appointment<http://techeffective.net/remote-support/set-an-appointment/>
> *
> *
> **
> *Website:* http://techeffective.net
> *Facebook: *Facebook.com/techeffective
> <http://Facebook.com/techeffective%20>
>
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>
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>
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>
> ↑ Grab this Headline Animator<http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/headlineanimator/install?id=iru7c61fcvc1v4i1d4umtctnak&w=1>
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>
> On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 10:21 PM, Margot Zalkind <margotzalkind at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>>   ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>>   ** If you did, we all thank you.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks for your help regarding who owns what on the website -
>> the question is,
>> what would be in an agreement
>> to protect one's ownership of a website?
>> What points would you cover,
>> to be sure before you have someone design/build the site?
>>
>> Thanks all.
>> mz
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>>  Margot Zalkind
>> MarchMedia LLC
>> ArcherMayor.com
>>
>> Ph.  413.585.9445      Cell. 802.275.2612
>>
>>
>>
>>
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