Contracts: Company Insurance For The Future

batobin writes: "This article gives a new perspective on how contracts work in the technology business. In the past, contracts and signed agreements have been used primarily to protect the individuals involved from legal action. They are now being used like a spider web. After they catch somebody, their purpose is to keep them subscribing/paying/buying their stuff, even if you don't want it anymore."

Comments

Purpose of Contracts

[Veteran]

There is one, and only one reason, that anyone ever wants you to sign something; to use it against you in a court of law.

Anytime someone wants your signature be aware of that fact. People may tell you "Oh this is just a formality" but don't be fooled. All you are doing by signing any document is giving someone legal ammunition to use against you. If you want someone to sign something, it is to bind them legally to do what you want isn't it?

This becomes very important as UCITA becomes the law of the land - as pushing a button on a computer screen - or even tearing open a shrink wrap becomes the legal equivalent of signing a document.

The libertarian myth is that contracts are freely arrived at deals between parties in equal bargaining positions. Anyone who thinks that they are in an equal bargaining position with Microsoft and their cadre of Wolfram and Hart style lawyers has got serious delusions of grandeur. If you were in an equal bargaining position with companies - you would write half of all contracts with the companies; you don't, and you aren't.

It may be argued that you don't have to sign anything, and that is true; of course you also don't have to eat, drink water, or continue breathing - you are also under no legal obligation to do those things either.

When the choice is "Sign the employment contract or don't work" most people choose to sign the employment contract - for all the same reasons that they would sign over their house if 'Big Tony' had a nine millimeter pointed at their head. When every company you try to work for has similar employment contracts - you have no choice; you either sign, or you die of starvation.

And this is news, why?

[Kris_J]

Ooo, technology is moving quickly. Signing a contract means you're committed to something. "I can't weasel out of my financial committments.". Wah, wah!

Please, half the world works like this. I was watching something a few months back where hairdressers were getting to the point where they wanted to force customers to sign something or hand over a credit card number in case they cancelled the appointment with no time for the slot to be filled. This sort of stuff is everywhere. Just read everything you sign! You're allowed to refuse to sign things.

Yawn.

Is this really new?

[kabir]

Admittedly I have always tried very hard (and reasonably sucessfully) to avoid getting to involved in this side of the business, so I may be way off base here, but it doesn't seem to me that this sort of use of contracts is at all new. In fact, this is the only use of contracts I've really been exposed to over the last five years.

From what I have seen the contracts have never really been about protection from legal action, but rather as a specific assingment of duties which enable legal (or other, prenegotiated) remedies when the customer stops buying the service/product/scam in question. I just assumed this was an old, standard way of doing things (dirty pool though it may be).

What other uses has anyone seen for contracts? I'm interested, as I've aparently completely missed them.
--