Writing a Contract for GPL'd Code?

An anonymous reader wonders: "I am working as an independent developer for a client I have a long relationship with, and of whom I used to be an employee. I've made informal contracts in the past for development work, but this job is much more significant. Also, the client has gone to court over software development in the past; he was in the right to do so, but I need to cover myself. The product will be released under the (L)GPL and copyrighted by me, and the client will also be agreeing to open the license and give me the copyright on some code I previously developed. I plan to consult a lawyer, but I just want a little more direction before I start investing hours. Are there any resources I should know about, beyond what the FSF has to offer?"

Comments

Re:Something doesn't sound right.

[thegrassyknowl]

My memory is a little rusty (pun intended) but Rusty Russel did this with the Linux firewall code, did he not?

Make a contract based on functional results

[Qbertino]

I've done the exact same thing myself. Make a contract over the functionality and the service delivered that excludes code and implementation specs and agree verbally to GPL all parts exepct any CI and branding stuff the company uses. Think about a generic name for the GPL side of the project. Then anything that goes GPL is entirely in your hands and there's no need for a contract handling the GPL. It's a wonderfull foundation for working with larger partners. They don't have to pay further than needed, no need for both to fight wether they bought a result or some code and you don't need to feel ripped off as there's a funded GPL project out there with your name on it. It's a win-win situation.