Quote:Original post by synth_cat
Is it normal for contract signing to proceed thus . . .

A publishers sends the developer a .txt contract, the developer prints it out, the developer signs it, the developer scans it, the developer sends the .jpg back to the publisher, the publisher prints it, the publisher scans it

. . . ?

I just wanted to know if this is usually how it's done.

Just wanted to say that an established developer has been sending me contract like that for the last 3 years, so I guess it's completely fine. I have my scanned signature as a jpg file, so I just paste it to the document.

Quote:Original post by tsloper

Quote:Original post by TiJ
I have my scanned signature as a jpg file, so I just paste it to the document.

And as soon as someone else has your JPG, they don't need you to paste it anymore - they can just do it themselves.

They can scan it themselves from my contracts or from any other place I have signed. I could also scan their signature and paste it on a contract that gives me 5times the amount they offer. It doesn't work that way, no need to scare people. [smile]

Quote:Original post by SlyxsithJust to clarify, are you sure you are signing a contract? Are you sure it isnt just an agreement, in principle? to do X or Y for z? Big difference. An agreemetn is an act of good faith stating in black and white "I Will do X, Y, Z" where as a contract is a legally binding document that generally involves the exchange or express goods and services to entities or individuals.

I'm not sure where you pulled THAT from.

Legally, an "agreement" is whenever parties reach an understanding about an issue. Agreements include contracts, and also includes other understandings that don't rise to the level of legally binding contract.

Legally, a "contract" is an agreement were parties set forth what they will or will not do. Contracts can be oral or written. There are limitations on how valuable a contract must be before it must be written, but contracts under $500 can be made orally and still be legally binding. One form of payment can be 'good will', or basically saying that there is not exchange of cash, but I will pay you in other ways that aren't listed in the agreement.

For example, if I say "I will deliver two boxes of pizza in about a half an hour for $19.95" and you pay me, I have entered into a legally binding oral contract. A good will oral contract might be as simple as saying "I'll do this job for you, and we'll work something out later."

When a judge is required to rule on a contract, they will consider both the written document and also any agreements that have been made. In small claims court, the judge frequently just has the two parties' descriptions of an oral agreement to go from, or even a poorly written lay document. A judge is free to ignore any non-written agreements, but they may also ignore the written contract in favor of the actual agreement the parties believed they entered with the incorrect written agreement. In a good will oral contract, small claims judges often decide that 'good will' has a specific cash value when the deal turns sour.


All that is required for a legally binding contract is an agreement (see above) with an action ("performance") and a payment ("consideration").

Quote:Original post by Slyxsith
Thirdly, and most importantly, A contract is not valid unless witnessed. Your signature is worth nothing if someone didnt see you sign it and put their affirmation to that effect on the contract.

Um, no.

Only a very small set of contracts require witnessing or notarization to be binding. These include real property transfers or other government-involved contracts.

The reason for witnessing and notarization is nonrepudiation. In court, notaries and witnesses can be called to state that a person really did sign a document. In commonly contested documents it is a really good idea, but not an absolute legal requirement, to get them notarized or witnessed. Examples include wills, debts, loans and liens, and large financial deals. Statements for bonding, wills, and indebtedness must be witnessed or notarized in some jurisdictions, but it is not a common law requirement.

Most contracts do not need to be witnessed to be legally binding. Many contracts can simply be faxed, like the OP described. Anybody who has purchased a house has probably gone through the "sign a fax and fax it back" process. Some companies require NDAs and IP assignement agreements to be witnessed, others do not. Some licensed technologies require witnessed signatures, others require a faxed back generic form with signature.

The one the OP is talking about does not need a witness.




I have a strong legal background and legal education, but I am not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice or anything. If you really are concerned about it, go talk to your own lawyer about it.

Remember, contracts are not a guarantee of anything. Whatever they say can always be amended or circumvented by either party after the agreement is executed. While getting a lawyer to review the agreement isn't a bad idea, I don't think it's beyond any intellectual business person's ability to read through and understand the terms. Everybody is always so afraid of getting ripped off or screwed over- so we're all quick to assume we need a lawyer. I wouldn't bother if the total amount of development payments isn't at least $100K or if there is a royalty structure involved. Personally, I prefer to make a profit on the development payments and not even bother with royalties (on most projects). This makes it more of a straight forward work-for-hire situation as well. But we don't usually do original IP development, either.