[geeklog-devel] A lesson to learn from Mambo?

[Peter Roozemaal]

Blaine Lang wrote:

> I don't think we can ever be too cautious and getting agreement and 
> understanding up front or soon as it appears to be a solution with wider 
> appeal is key. When doing contract work (developement for hire), I believe 
> the client owns the right to the work product unless contracts say 
> otherwise.

The rules on "work for hire" differ between countries. Some countries
assume copyright transfers automaticly to the employer and others assume
that copyrights remain with the author/contractor. It is best to make
clear in the contract who will get the copyright on the modifications
made for hire. (If the employer ensist on getting the copyrights on his
modification, make sure that it is limited to "the work done under this
contract" and doesn't extend to previous and/or later work.)
Another piece of advice: Make clear in the contract that the work you do
"is based on code distributed under the GPL" and that the resulting work
is subject to the GPL.

Pamela says I should put down the disclaimer that "I am not a Lawyer" here;
	Greetings,

	Peter.

> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Dirk Haun" <dirk at haun-online.de>
> To: <geeklog-devel at lists.geeklog.net>
> Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2004 3:28 PM
> Subject: [geeklog-devel] A lesson to learn from Mambo?
> 
> There's an interesting article on Slashdot about a dispute over a piece
> of code in the Mambo CMS:
> 
>     http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/09/18/1348255
> 
> Apparently, one of the Mambo developers made a modification for a
> customer (and was paid for it). Since he liked that feature, he re-
> implemented (and extended) it and added it to the Mambo distribution. Now
> the customer is p*ssed and threatens all the Mambo users(!) with lawsuits
> and whatnot.