Quote:Original post by Daniel Protopopov
I will be arranging another consultation with a lawyer before actually signing anything to understand all bits and pieces, but wanted to know your opinion prior.
Thank you.
I'm going to be very frank about this-- once you get the opinion of an attorney, most of the opinions you find here will be moot, including mine. That being said, this is general education and does not constitute legal advice:
1) Try to maintain a professional relationship with Y. If you can't compromise enough to even hammer out a basic set of terms for your deal, this probably isn't the type of business relationship you want to enter into. That being said, your lawyer will probably inform you that you are entitled to reasonable compensation for the work you performed for Y. There are several equitable remedies that you and your lawyer may want to consider, but bear in mind that legal action tends to destroy professional relationships. Also remember that lawsuits are financially, psychologically, and mentally draining. If you decide that you can't work things out with Y, do make an effort to get paid for your work.
2) As far as ownership goes-- Work for hire application is relatively international in scope, with some exceptions re: moral rights. Regardless, whether your work is defined as a work for hire is something that only becomes an issue when you're putting together the terms of your agreement or when you're in court.
3) Publishers who screw over developers by failing to adequately distribute and promote the product do not last long. If you aren't confident in this publisher's ability to do it's job, hammer out rights ownership and part ways. If you can't have faith in your publisher you have no business doing business with it. An agreement is only worth the paper it's written on if the parties don't trust one another to perform on the deal. As Tom mentioned, it isn't uncommon for your publisher to own exclusive reproduction/distribution rights for the territory they're distributing to.
4) I can't push this enough-- you need to feel comfortable with the people you're doing business with. That being said, your written agreement should contain reps and warranties for both parties. There is also an implied duty of good faith and fair dealing in every agreement. If you're really concerned, see if you can spell out exactly what you expect from your publisher in the agreement. Non-performance constitutes a breach.
