Web and Software Development: A Legal Guide (With CD-ROM)

Book Description

Protect your rights, and your hard work!

The laws covering website and software development are complex and confusing, but if you don't untangle them, it could cost you thousands of dollars in attorneys' fees and lawsuits.

Fortunately, Web & Software Development decodes this complex area of the law, thoroughly and in reader-friendly English.The book also provides contracts, agreements and legal forms on CD-ROM, with step-by-step instructions for filling them out, so you can protect your software and website without paying a lawyer's ransom.

Use Web & Software Development to learn:

*what kind of intellectual-property protection you need

*the strengths and limitations of each type of protection

*how to avoid infringement

*which provisions you need when drafting an agreement

*how to obtain permission to use other people's materials

You'll find complete, step-by-step instructions to draft:

*employment agreements

*contractor & consultant agreements

*web & software development agreements

*license agreements

The 3rd edition is completely updated to include website development, as well as the latest in intellectual property law.

Customer Reviews:

Well worth the money for the do-it-your-self-er, small business!.......2007-07-26

After careful research, I choose this Nolo book when it came time to license my company's software. I guess it's silly after spending so much moola to develop software, to not go to an attorney, but I like to think I can figure out all this stuff on my own. I looked at a lot of user agreements online, I figured I could just put together something the big guns paid a lot of money for. If their agreements worked for them, they should work for me. But, I didn't want to plagarize them, and, well, you never know what you don't know and you can't be too careful in business these days. What you don't know is what will bring you down. I have used many NOLO books as guides and trust them. They are always easy to skim and read. I also bought Quicken's Legal Business Pro 2007 software. The sum of the 2 is way less than attorney fees, and now I understand it myself as well. I am so happy I bought this book with a CD because it made me realize how important it is to also protect our work with copyrights, trademarks, agreements, etc. Most importantly, I found out who owns the software we paid to develop, and it's not us, surprisingly! So I have to get that signed off before I can license it to someone else. It's not in depth but I don't think it's meant to be, it's a GUIDE, people. Now I will buy NOLO's books to guide me through the process for legal protection. The employment & consulting agreement chapters were not useful to me, but they may be to someone else. There are other books devoted to that and NOLO has them too. (check out their website and e-mail newsletters.)I feel I got more information than I expected and know what to do to take the next steps. Very important info for CA users, the laws are not the same as other states,(what's different?) and this book points the differences out. The format is such that one is able to cut and paste together the different parts and verbiage you need which will apply to your needs. Buy the book and get your bright yellow highlighter out!

Fastest, cheapest, 200-level education out there!.......2007-04-18

Nolo delivers again with its guide to web and software development. The book is easy to read, has sufficient tips and examples, and is a great primer.

It does not get into incredible detail on any one subject, but that's not its purpose either. It gives you sufficient resources (including the necessary forms) to get a software company or product started. When the product / company start growing fast, it's worth doing a review with an attorney, but not until then.

I recommend buying this if you are: a software developer looking to go freelance; starting a software company; or doing any consultant work in web or software development.

Excellent Legal Contracts.......2006-10-18

I found this book most useful for the CD-ROM's legal contracts. As a consultant, I use these for all my clients.

I have found my clients legal contracts to be biased entirely in their favor rather than this CD's contracts which tend to be fair and balanced, protecting both parties.

Good content, bad editing.......2006-10-16

There is a lot of good information and discussion in this book about the topics which a contract should cover. It falls down, however, when it comes to the actual contracts. Just comparing the website and the custom software contracts, there are differences where there shouldn't be. In the software contract, it's the Customer, in the website contract, it's the Client. A bit more than half of the contract sections with (mostly) identical headings and purpose have unexplained differences between them. Many of these differences are not trivial. In the text, the contracts are interleaved with explanations, but often the commentary/annotations are just restatements of the contract itself, which is a real time-waster, especially if you've read the background material earlier in the book. Other occasional editing snafus include explanatory comments inside the contract text, formatting syntax commands on the page (END SECTION), and a less than clear and concise structure for indicating optional clauses (the intended combinations aren't always clear, even though customization is to be expected). Given the fuzzy line between a website and a web application (ie 'custom software' (and really, what website is NOT custom?)), and given the marked similarities in over half of the two contracts, why not cover the overlapping sections just once, instead of twice, but inconsistently? And the sections that don't overlap, or overlap badly? No real explanation as to the reasons for the differences. I hope I don't have the same problems with the two versions of the independent contractor agreement. Fishman has written a pile of legal books for the layman, including the more recent "Consultant And Independent Contractor Agreements 5th Edition". I have to wonder: "Quantity over quality?" Perhaps when he is working on the next edition of this book ("Legal Guide to Web & Software Development", due out 8/2007), he will take the time to re-organize some of the content and get a capable editor. A determined reader can sort out the differences on their own, but it need not be so difficult. The content is 5 stars (including 24 documents in RTF format), but making it work for you is a real pain if you care about details.

This Book Delivers.......2005-08-09

A straightforward and well organized book.

I needed a brief on copyright ownership, a draft software licensing agreement and a software maintenance agreement. I got all 3 with this publication.

It is nice to find a book so fit for purpose.

Average customer rating:

Great for people who are interested in software licensing!!

Software And Internet Law
Mark A. Lemley , Peter S. Menell , Robert P. Merges , and Pamela Samuelson
Manufacturer: Aspen Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0735558647

Customer Reviews:

Great for people who are interested in software licensing!!.......2002-03-22

The book contains many useful and comprehensive information about software and the Internet law in various aspects. I can say that, comparing with other similar law books I have read, this book does provide most cutting-edge issues, specifically software licensing.

Microsoft Word 2000 Step by Step Courseware Expert Skills Color Class Pack (Construction Law Library)

Average customer rating:

Microsoft Word 2000 Step by Step Courseware Expert Skills Color Class Pack (Construction Law Library)
ActiveEducation
Manufacturer: Microsoft Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0735607214

e-Patent Strategies for Software, e-Commerce, the Internet, Telecom Services, Financial Services, and Business Methods (with Case Studies and Forecasts)

Average customer rating:

Lightweight, dependent on another book, and showing its age.
Wonderful book! Worth a fortune!
terrible
Useful but could have been more meaty
Legal and strategic advice that is invaluable

e-Patent Strategies for Software, e-Commerce, the Internet, Telecom Services, Financial Services, and Business Methods (with Case Studies and Forecasts)
Stephen C. Glazier
Manufacturer: L B I Law & Business Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0966143779

Book Description

This book is an all new companion volume to the popular "Patent Strategies for Business", third edition, by the same author. This new book has chapters about e-Patents, i-Patents, and service patents, including new rules to invent software and Internet applications (and to patent the result), current legal developments, intellectual property audits, related forecasts of trends in technology and business, and case studies of the finance of technology businesses. A must read for the CEO, General Counsel, Director of e-Commerce, Venture Capitalist, M & A analyst, investor, or Chief Scientific Officer of any dot.com, or e-commerce project.

Customer Reviews:

Lightweight, dependent on another book, and showing its age........2006-04-09

Mr. Glazier has the makings of a blockbuster PowerPoint presentation here; unfortunately, he stretched it into a book. Of nearly 200 pages, fully half is devoted to reprinting information (court cases, patent applications) which is available online for free. While convenient access to such detail might appeal to some, it is in sharp contrast to the broad-brush approach Mr. Glazier takes in his original text.

Chapters are interrupted continually by cross-references to the "companion volume" (Patent Strategies for Business, third edition), and one notably unhelpful section effectively says: "You know that chapter from the other book? Well, add this, subtract that, and change the other, and then you'll know what I think about the subject at hand." With so much effort given to padding for length, you'd think he'd just reprint the whole chapter in modified form. It would have been more useful.

Finally, more than 20 pages are devoted to "Tech Trends" -- or, a patent attorney's prognostications about technology's future. As the book was copyrighted in 2000, the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the opinions is now mostly a matter of historical record, and this 10% of the book is now not particularly useful to anyone.

In summary: if you appreciate sweeping overviews that require very little time to read, this may be for you. If you want detail, depth of analysis, or an up-to-date review, look elsewhere.

Wonderful book! Worth a fortune!.......2003-03-14

The new practical ideas in this book are very valuable. The case studies of how real businesses have used patent strategies in software and business methods bring to life how this can affect my business today to help the bottom line. The latest legal developments and cases are analyzed, but there is no useless lawyer-speak, instead the author brings out the rules for running a business profitably that are buried between the lines of the cases. Obviously, this author is on the front lines of the patent wars, and brings back here what he has learned that we can all use. Good for the CEO, Chairman, or General Counsel of any business that uses software or the internet, about how to use all that new patent mumbo-jumbo for revenue, profit and shareholder value. A great e-companion and update to the classic "Patent Strategies for Business" by the same author.

I particularly liked the chapters on 'Patent Denial' [a laugh-riot, and it's not easy to be funny about patents], and the updated rules on 'Virtual Genius and How to Invent on Demand' [the author makes it sound easy, but he as invented several patents himself, and he is a patent lawyer, so he must know-- I am glad he decided to tell the rest of us]. It will be interesting to see how the 'Tech Trends' and forecasts play out. The survey of the new patent practices in banking [yes, that's banking patents] was surprising and enlightening -- and I look forward to a more in depth survey by the same author. The 'Patent Audit' chapters are also useful.

I expect an ROI on my investment in this book of about a zillion percent.

terrible.......2003-02-02

This is a terrible book, a scam if you will. In the first place, charging [$$$]for a under 200 pages, and with very small demensions, is outright theft. Secondly, the book is merly a summary of court cases, which can be obtained freely on the internet or from the US patent office web site, in greater detail. Thirdly, the author repeats himself many, usually entire paragraphs worded in slightly different ways. I can only think is is an attempt to "pat" the book and add more pages.

Useful but could have been more meaty.......2001-11-16

This book provides a little over 80 pages of easily read advice on patent strategies involving software/internet-based business methods. It provides a quick overview of two landmark cases. More importantly, it suggests areas for patenting and checklists for IP strategy. The book was helpful as a broad overview. However, I thought that more detail should have been included. The last 100 pages were filled with "Tech Trends" and reprinted case data. The "Tech Trends" chapters were the author's predictions on the future of tech, and while interesting (and occasionally incorrect), don't include any patent-related analysis. Also, the book dates from late 1999 and an included survey chapter analyzed patents up to Jan 1999. Given that the State Street Bank case wrapped in 1998, it's a shame that more recent analyses weren't provided either in the book or on an associated web page, especially since many patents had just been filed before the survey.

The bottom line: useful, informative book but could have used more detail, newer data, and incorporated information from the companion volume. The author refers to strategies such as "submarining", "picket fence", and "leap frog" without giving a single line of explanation, instead plugging the companion volume. I have encountered those strategies in other legal readings/coursework, and I believe a few pages for each concept (in replacement of the chapters on Tech Trends) would have greatly enhanced the value of this book.

Legal and strategic advice that is invaluable.......2001-09-13

When considering this book be aware that it is a supplement to the author's book titled "Patent Strategies for Business" to which frequent references are made.

That said, this book is still a valuable resource without "Patent Strategies for Business", which I have not read. What I like about this book is the number of real and hypothetical case studies, with well written legal analysis interwoven into the narrative. Much of the book is written in the ponderous legalese you'd expect from such a book, and this is necessary to ensure that there is no ambiguity communicated when legal points are made. However, there is also a lot of plain talk and common sense imparted, which makes this book readable by lay persons.

I personally gained a lot of excellent information from the book, including the fact that patents can be driven by legal as well as technology and marketing strategies. What this means is existing products can be modified with the advice of patent attorneys to be patentable and a part of a company's patent portfolio. This is an interesting and unique approach, and can (and should) be the basis for increasing a company's value.

Also excellent are the chapters that address updating existing products and services for the Internet, making them possibly patentable, and chapter 8's excellent set of steps for intellectual property audits.

Book Description

After your casebook, "Casenotes" will be your most important reference source for the entire semester. It is the most popular legal briefs series available, with over 140 titles, and is relied on by thousands of students for its expert case summaries, comprehensive analysis of concurrences and dissents, as well as of the majority opinion in the briefs.

Open Source Software Law (Artech House Telecommunications Library)

Average customer rating:

Authoritative and essential

Open Source Software Law (Artech House Telecommunications Library)
Rod Dixon
Manufacturer: Artech House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1580537197

Download Description

The rise of the world wide web has brought with it growing software piracy and copyright violations. Open source software (software that is feely re-distributable and includes the source code) has become a central issue in the information technology industry. This unique and comprehensive resource offers a broad introduction to the area of software licensing in the information age. The book helps attorneys, business executives, and programmers understand the basic philosophy and key issues of open source software development and offers expert guidance on how to draft an open source license

Customer Reviews:

Authoritative and essential.......2004-07-12

This is one of two books that are essential resources for software acquisition - "Software Agreements Line by Line" (ISBN 1587623692) for commercial software, and this one for open source.

The SCO debacle with respect to Linux, and earlier cases of open source challenges, such as that related to MySQL, underscore the importance of understanding what you can and cannot do under the provisions of the various open source license models. This book provides a thorough understanding of each of the major license models, a comparison of open source to commercial models, and topics such as intellectual property protection, governing laws, and related issues.

I like the way the author, a practicing attorney and respected expert in cyberlaw and Internet governance, places open source in context with background information on software patents, open source goals and the Open Source Definition. This is key to understanding the licensing models, including GNU GPL, Copyleft, Aladdin Free Public License, and Open Software License. It's also key to understanding the limitations and possible vulnerabilities inherent with these license models in particular, and open source models in general - especially regarding ownership of code, derivative works, and the legal ramifications.

An interesting chapter for anyone who is considering releasing an open source product, "Rolling Your Own Open Source License", covers these issues from the developer's perspective, and gives excellent advice for selecting the appropriate open source license model.

The appendices and associated CD ROM contain a wealth of reference material, ranging from significant provisions of UCITA and UETA (1999), to a summary of every major and some minor models not covered in detail in the body of the book. Two areas in the appendix that merits attention are Fundamentals of Copyright Law, and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), both of which are germane.

Book Description

Regulating company e-mail and Internet usage isn't a "big brother" tactic. These days, it's just smart business.

That's because trillions of e-mails travel each year through corporate networks- -and they're not all work-related. From off-color jokes to pornographic images, from software pirates to eBay addicts, digital abuse has left companies wide open to liability risks, security breaches, and productivity nosedives.

The most effective--and least used--way for a company to protect itself is by developing clear, comprehensive e-policies. And this completely thorough, up-to- date, and readable e-policy survival kit will make it easy.

Packed with step-by-step guidelines, sample policies, and e-disaster stories, THE E-POLICY HANDBOOK helps readers: Realize the magnitude of e-risks * Understand cyberlaws * Gauge the vulnerability of their organization * Purchase protective cyber-insurance * Write and format top-notch e-policies * Train employees about on-line policies * Draft an e-crisis communications plan, and more.

Download Description

Regulating company e-mail and Internet usage isn't a "big brother" tactic. These days, it's just smart business. That's because trillions of e-mails travel each year through corporate networks -- and they're not all work-related. From off-color jokes to pornographic images, from software pirates to eBay addicts, digital abuse has left companies wide open to liability risks, security breaches, and productivity nosedives. The most effective -- and least used -- way for a company to protect itself is by developing clear, comprehensive e-policies. And this completely thorough, up-to-date, and readable e-policy survival kit will make it easy. Packed with step-by-step guidelines, sample policies, and e-disaster stories, The E-Policy Handbook helps readers: Realize the magnitude of e-risks -- Understand cyberlaws -- Gauge the vulnerability of their organization -- Purchase protective cyber-insurance -- Write and format top-notch e-policies -- Train employees about on-line policies -- Draft an e-crisis communications plan, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Writing Effective E-Policies Is a Team Effort.......2005-07-12

Does your company or organization have a policy that covers writing style in electronic communications? Does your company or organization have cyberinsurance to cover losses attributed to errors or employee misbehavior using your e-mail systems? Does your company or organization offer netiquette training for employees and managers? These are topics that many do not think of but should and that are covered in detail in The ePolicy Handbook: Designing and Implementing Effective E-Mail, Internet and Software Policies by Nancy Flynn (256 pages ; The American Management Association, 2001). Though this book is a few years old, it is worthwhile for Human Resource managers and anyone else involved in the development of ePolicies for their company organization.

The book starts out by covering what every organization should do when deciding what kind of business controls to put in place: the conduct of a risk-assessment. This step is key to putting together a team, conducting a control self-assessment (the author refers to this as an audit, which really is the wrong term from a business controls perspective).

The second part of the book covers the establishment of over all ePolicies to limit liability and exposure. One of the key considerations here is the purchase of appropriate liability insurance. As the reader moves through the book, they will be walked through the steps to craft effective policies for the use of E-Mail. the Internet, and computer software (especially piracy issues). It is after this point where most readers will get perhaps the biggest surprise and guidance. Specifically, the reader will be walked through what steps are needed to truly make any written policies effective. This includes getting buy-in from all line managers, communication of the policies, training and following through. The reader will then be walked through the establishment of eWriting policies for employees, with the main point being that writing e-mail communications should follow the same rules and style of other written communication sent through snail mail. The book finishes up discussing how to respond to an eCrisis.

The book is a very easy read and can be a valuable resource. The only things I did not like about the book is that there are too many points repeated in the book and the fact that the book did not include a CD-ROM of samples from the book was not included. The repeated points may have been for emphasis, but to this reader often seemed to be space filler. The only other caution for potential readers is that the book, while providing good information and examples, seems to be a lead-in as a commercial for the services and her colleagues in and around Columbus, Ohio. I wish that had been a little less blatant than as presented in Appendix E.

The Scorecard: Par on an average Par 4.

From workplace piracy to e-theft insurance.......2001-04-29

This key to designing and implementing email and software policies in a company structure provides business owners and managers with important information on how to produce clear policies which regulate computer use. From workplace piracy to e-theft insurance, Nancy Flynn's The ePolicy Handbook covers a wide range of topics and concerns.

Cuts down on time to produce an effective e-policy.......2001-04-10

This book covers all of the key points and provides some excellent topics to include in a corporate e-policy. The goal of this book is to aid you in developing a policy that will provide clear, enforceable guidelines to your employees in the acceptable use of the Internet and electronic mail, and to protect your company's image.

It starts out with a well developed approach to assessing your current situation with respect to Internet and software usage, and provides a handy list of questions to aid in this task. The key objective is to discover your company's exposures and what abuse of systems or services [if any] need to be immediately addressed by the policy.

In order to fully understand the results of your assessment and how they relate to risks and exposures, the author provides fundamentals of "cyberlaw" and general security concerns that will indicate, roughly, the degree of risk your company faces. These are important considerations for tailoring an e-policy to which your employees can relate. I liked the chapter on cyber insurance products and how they can be used to transfer some of the inherent risks to an underwriter. I didn't even know such policies existed. The author also addresses software piracy, which can be a big issue because the world wide web has many sources for pirated software (commonly called "Warez"). It goes without saying that pirated software can expose your company to legal headaches and expenses, not to mention technical headaches and lost productivity that will occur if that stolen software also comes with a virus attached.

The book then shows you how to develop an e-policy that is based on your assessment results, and the issues previously discussed in the book. What is valuable here is that the author provides a list of all elements that need to be included in the policy. Moreover the next chapters provide additional material that will prove to be invaluable in preparing your company for the policy. For example, there is a "Netiquette" primer for employees, on-line writing guidelines, and advice on training your employees. The training aspect of implementing an e-policy is especially important because many employees have home computers and are experienced Internet users. They might consider themselves to be experts and may resent being "constrained" by a policy that dictates how they use the Internet at work. Educating them and getting their "buy-in" is essential, and the author provides some effective ways to get that "buy-in".

I found the sample policies in the appendices to be particularly valuable to use as guidelines for drafting a clearly-worded policy that covers all key elements. The applicable laws cited in the appendices were also valuable because they indicate the many sources of legal risks (and protection) that touch an e-policy.

Book Description

Legal environment is changing in the 21st century, and Cyberlaw and E-Commerce has been created to address the legal issues surrounding the Internet and Electronic Commerce in light of technological changes that have radically altered the legal realities that confront business managers. The text is designed, among other things, to prepare students to manage intellectual property. Cyberlaw and E-commerce is intended for the Legal Environment of Business course for faculty interested in additional material on e-commerce. It could also fit into courses entitled Computers, Law and Society, Internet Law, Intellectual Property Law, or Issues in E-Commerce.

Customer Reviews:

Biased opinion, but still worthy.......2002-07-24

I had a dream when I was younger to be a Lawyer practicing Corporate Law or IT-based law. That dream never came true because now I'm an IT manager, but the fire was stoked when I picked up this book to review for one of my Masters courses. The book give you a clear understanding of legal terms, the trend with a focus on Internet Law, and how businesses will need to prepare themselves for the future precidence setting rulings to come. You don't have to be a legal geek to appreciate this work. Even outside of my scholastic requirement for getting this book I think I would have enjoyed it on it's own. It has indeed sparked a desire to search for more books on the subject.

Real advice for real life issues.......2002-04-19

This 12 chapter book is intended as a college text for business majors. However, it also deserves a place on the working professional's bookshelf, and is suited to both business and IT professionals.

Highlights: It's an up-to-date text that addresses the full range of topics from the contemporary legal environment defined and changed by the internet, to business agreements. The chapters on contract law, privacy and liability are essential reading for anyone involved in e-commerce, either as a business process owner or as an IT professional who is responsible for online content.

The first seven chapters are my favorite because they covered information that is of particular interest to business and IT professionals. Chapter 1 covers the legal landscape of e-commerce issues, then segues into three chapters on contract law, present and future issues of contract law that are specific to e-commerce, and contracting and licensing software. These chapters realistically address real issues and challenges. These chapters build the foundation for the next chapters that cover torts in general, and cyber torts in particular, and liability issues (often overlooked, but a all-too-real exposure).

Chapters 8 through 10 cover intellectual property in great detail. This topic is an inescapable reality of doing business over the internet, and is one in which the legal issues are still evolving. I recommend that anyone who focuses on this aspect of law also read Bill Zoellick's excellent book, CyberRegs: A Business Guide to Web Property, Privacy, and Patents. Chapter 11 is a brief examination of business organization that can be glossed over, but the final chapter, 12, on cyber companies and internet agreements is an essential chapter that is filled with invaluable facts and advice.

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