Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Contracts Contracts Contracts

Posted by timothy on from the ignore-the-print-and-sign-here dept.

An anonymous reader submits: "There's an article over at CNet about all those software contracts that are out there, and what to watch for before signing the dotted line. Using California's $95 million Oracle problem, they define what the general terms are that get used in software procurement and support contracts. While mostly geared at commercial software, one can use most of this article to target open source tech support contracts."

2 of 70 comments (clear)

  1. Should have Standardized EULAs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting


    In several other industries, there are "standard contracts", and I think it is well past time that became the case in the Software Industry. A specific example is the Building/Construction industry. They have "AIA" (I forget what that stands for, but it should be easy to find) standard contracts that they can call on so everyone is on the same page. A very good idea.

    One reason I love Open Source software is that there are only a few licenses that I have to know about, and just by knowing the name of them, for example knowing something falls under the "GPL", or a "BSD" license, I know EXACTLY what to expect. This is of immense value to me as a user of software.

    I think that property should be more heavily emphasized by the Open Source industry.

    Frankly, I don't know why people put up with the EULA uncertainty and why the courts let Software companies take advantage of people in that fashion. They don't for most other products, heck even "media/content" products.

    Erich Boleyn
    erich@uruk.org

  2. What was that line again? by drew_kime · · Score: 4, Interesting
    It's not about the purchase price, it's the total cost of ownership that's important. Right? Right?
    Stephen Davidson, an attorney and chairman of the intellectual property and information technology law department at Minneapolis-based Leonard Street and Deinard, cited one case in which a company temporarily used licensed software on a computer that was more powerful than noted in the contract. That put the customer at risk of triggering an expansion charge of nearly $1 million and a threat that the license agreement would be terminated if the fee was not paid.
    That's the thing you'll never see with OSS. At worst, you'll lost the support contract, but the software will always be yours.
    --
    Nope, no sig