General > General Technical Chat
How to monetize source code ?
mikeselectricstuff:
--- Quote from: rstofer on March 20, 2021, 08:48:20 pm ---
Why do you expect different terms as a consultant?
--- End quote ---
Because as a consultant you can work under whatever terms you specify, that are acceptable to the client.
nctnico:
--- Quote from: T3sl4co1l on March 19, 2021, 11:21:58 am ---Same price? I quote based on labor required, if I have to spend weeks/months figuring out their protocol from spec, it's their expense either way. Maybe if they want to license it from me, it could be discounted, or on royalty, or other means, or some combination thereof; but that's not going to be of any value to you, for something "proprietary".
The source might matter, if the terms allow that it can be reused (in part, or even in whole?) by you, in other projects; and so they are agnostic about what that source is (mind, not like it's impossible to tell from the compiled result) and can't worry about where else it may appear. Then, presumably, you retain the copyright to it and such, and there is some kind of license term to their use of the resulting compiled code -- this all needs to be stipulated in the contract.
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Something along this lines indeed.
In my terms & conditions I hand over the copyright of the code I wrote for the customer after they paid the invoice in full (this is very important!) and include a non-transferable license for the libraries (*). Until the invoice is paid the software is provided for testing & evaluation purposes only.
IMHO whether the source is included or not should be the same price. I think it is weird for a company to have something developed by a third party and not become an owner of the copyright of the software they had me write.
* Which are clearly marked as such.
nctnico:
--- Quote from: rstofer on March 20, 2021, 08:48:20 pm ---If you went to work for the client as an employee and wrote code for their widget, they would own it outright and you would have no rights at all.
Why do you expect different terms as a consultant? You are working for pay by the hour, they are paying you for work by the hour (or perhaps by the project), they own the product.
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There is a very simple rule to follow here: if you work at the client's premises and write code according to their design then the copyright is their's. If you work at your own office and write the code following your own design then the copyright is yours. It is a common misconception that you own the copyright of software that you have written by a third party. That is not the case; transfer of the copyright -if requested /required- must be clearly defined.
coppice:
--- Quote from: NivagSwerdna on March 19, 2021, 09:34:39 am ---
--- Quote from: jemangedeslolos on March 19, 2021, 08:14:20 am ---But they asked me for a separate quote with the supply of the microcontroller source code and a quote without.
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Without source? Isn't that Weird? Although there might be some agreement on IP I am surprised you could ever be able to deliver based on a binary format only for such a project.
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Its not uncommon to supply no code at all for MCU based projects. Development shops program the entire production run of MCUs themselves, lock the devices, and supply them to the factory. Its a PITA, because packages like QFPs you'll always get some extra bent legs from the extra handling steps, but its one way to stop manufacturers ripping off independent development engineers.
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