Listen up Developers, Make Sure you Cover Your Butt Legally

Listen up Developers, Make Sure you Cover Your Butt Legally
You as the end consumers use hundreds of softwares all the time without even knowing of it. For consumers any mobile application or a computer program is just another mode of connectivity, or a search engine. What they fail to realize is that there is an intricate back end process that has resulted in the successful development, publishing and execution of this software. Software development is a tricky business. A lot goes behind the development of single software. It works in an interconnected loop. A complex programing goes into making single software that you so easily use, sometimes legally or illegally download and then just so simply uninstall.

Software Development

The inception of software from when it is conceived to the notion when it actually is executed a lot goes in the minds of developers. Initially the brain storming session takes place considering the market need of certain software. The brilliant heads get together and design the entire algorithms and programming which goes into making of that software. Lastly the software’s beta version is tested, its MVP is floated and then it goes into the hands of publishers and the end consumers. Software development as is an emerging market with its own pitfalls, shortcomings or weaknesses for all the parties involved in this business, the developers, publishers, buyers and lastly the end consumers.

Need to Cover up Your Butt

Since this much of an effort has been put into software development, it becomes absolutely imperative to claim its copyrights, patent it and protect your property with full claim of ownership so as nobody tarnishes your legal right. There is always an associated risk of running bugs and viruses on your programs because of how contaminated the current situation has gotten. Care must be practiced when entering into contracts with any of the party involved in software development business. Software development agreement therefore protects the rights of the parties in this. This façade is a loop, where all the parties are reliant on one another, developers are often suspicious of the publishers and the consumers are distrustful of the distributors and the process goes on. You as a buyer are in desperate need to mitigate the risk you might encounter. Software development contract templates are used for times like these.

Look out for:

So before you find yourself in the abyss of fraud after having spent a lot of money on software you really need to have a following network in mind:
  1. Make sure whoever is involved in this entire process of development and publishing undergo a contract. Whether it’s the partnership agreement or not all parties ought to sign the contract for their own good. In case of a partnership, software development partnership agreement has to be signed otherwise a simple software development agreement template would work just as fine. Be confident that you’ve cleared all your concerns; put them in the contract in the form of terms and conditions. This would act as a preliminary goodwill gesture between the parties. Monetary dealing must be conducted and written down for the funding purposes. Software development contract agreement saves you from monetary scams as well.
  2. The contracts signed must include the after sale services like that of the software repair and taking care of the unprecedented and unexpected problems. Who is to be held responsible if anything of that sort occurs?
  3. Undue time pressure, funds released, blue prints of the project and instruction manuals are some of the areas that need touch up officially when it comes to writing off software. Make sure such clauses are imprinted because that will help end consumers such as you to claim warranty if anything should go wrong.
  4. Make sure you have the signed contracts, along with their copies for any future references. Ownership entitlement and monetary matters are not a joke so therefore everything should be made official under the eyes of law so as to avoid the inconvenience of any sort.

To Sum it Up

Publisher are responsible for their role, developers are liable for what they create and consumers for how they use that software. Software also carries within itself different versions. When signing a contract and entering into legalities, one must keep in mind what version do they oblige to, what module they have signed up for and what are the repercussions of it. If that has been framed there would a small or even negative number of discrepancies. Signing of such contracts and software development agreements ensures, safety for the parties, protection of copy rights and legal rights, maintains confidences in the developers, works in betterment of the developer and adds to the rapport of the parties in this business. No body by the end of the day has to feel scammed or deceived. The profits must be equally shared and that has to be clearly mentioned in the software development agreement. To which, the contract helps you in finding the the underlying necessities.
This story originally appeared on the LegalNotes blog. |Photo.Credit
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