Re: Re: Re: Software Intellectual Property Question

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Software Intellectual Property Question

Comments:
: : I want to rewrite the software and make it better then it is, not copy it verbatim. : : What is to stop me from writing another Windows Explorer and selling it? : : : : Hello, : : : : I am a computer programmer. I've had a home based business for about three years now. My x-employer(call them Comp1) still gets me jobs though. : : : : Last year Comp1 got me a project for a large company.(call them Comp2) I wrote a database system for them. I acted as a sub-contractor. Comp1 is the contractor. No contracts between me and either company were signed, except a standard contractors badge agreement which states that anything I do for them(Comp2) or idea's that I come up with while working for them on the project, belongs to Comp2. : : : : Almost a year later now, I've decided that I want to market that database. So, : : : : Question one, who owns the intellectual property for that database? : : : There is even more than raw law to consider. What would the impact on you be if you do that? What is more whether you have a right to do what you propose, if it is contested can you afford the legal expense? Therein lies the reality. The law is just a framework. There may or not be a clear legal answer. That could only be ascertained by a very careful going over of what is in writing. This is not to say you cannot acheive what you want. You must be not only "legal" but "prudent". : : : M. Arthur Auslander : : : ELAINE's Workshop: Early Legal Advice Is Not Expensive (sm) : : : Auslander & Thomas-Intellectual Property Law Since 1909 : : : 505 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10018 : : : 212-594-6900, fax 212-244-0028, aus@auslander.com : : : : : : : Question two, if I do not, could I RE-write the database in a different language and then own it? : : : : Any help would be greatly appreciated. : Yes you would own it but you would use it at your peril as an infringer of the basic copyright. If there is a patent involved, there is the ame problem. I'm not taking professional responsibility for what I say her without being paid a fee and researching the off the top of my head answers. : M. Arthur Auslander : ELAINE's Workshop: Early Legal Advice Is Not Expensive (sm) : Auslander & Thomas-Intellectual Property Law Since 1909 : 505 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10018 : 212-594-6900, fax 212-244-0028, aus@auslander.com

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