Dear Group,
I run PS for a software company, and we are getting asked more and more to develop extensions to the commercial product, whether that be
external adapters / modules or customized functionality. These would be considered outside the standard product set, and thus subject to a
different set of terms and conditions than the commercial product.
I’d like to get feedback and confirmation on what these T&C differences are. Below are the key areas that come to mind, some
of which our current contract language covers, and others which it does not. I’d be interested if there are other areas to consider, and
if you have any good language for them.
1. Ownership (IP) - We have pretty good coverage here as I’m sure most of you do as well. Our position is that the deliverables are
deliverables of the product itself, and thus subject to the same ownership terms (default: we own it.)
2. Warranty - Depending on the length of the Software warranty period, the PS developed software might have a shorter length,
especially if our customer has negotiated a much longer warranty period for the software than our default period. We have separate
warranty language for PS deliverables.
3. Support - Our standard PS agreement does not have any language for Technical Support of the PS developed product other than the Warranty
language. But our customers typically want some form of support beyond the warranty period. We could sell them some additional PS
days to cover this. We are also small enough where our Support group (which I also lead) might help as well. Does anybody have any
creative options here?
4. Compatibility with Future Software Releases / Upgrades - We have no language here currently, and I feel exposed. I do NOT want to
guarantee that any custom development is compatible with future product releases, and that if an upgrade is required, they will have
to pay. Is this in line with others? Anybody have good language?
Am I missing any other significant areas?
Thanks for your assistance!
Tom
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