Content Licensing Help

[pstroot]

Hello, I have a single page, flash entertainment site at www.dancingpaul.com that's currently doing quite well, and I've recently been contacted about selling the .fla files to an individual so that he can customize it and make his own page incorporating his own graphics and links.

I'd like to know what kinds of things I should watch out for and make sure to include in an agreement. Is it a bad idea to turn over exclusive rights to somebody if I am currently using the original site for my own promotion? Is there anything he could do with the file that I need to protect myslelf against. If anybody's been in this situation before I'd like to know of any advice you could give me.

-Paul
paul_c_s@hotmail.com

(also, if anybody would like to suggest what they think I should charge for the content licensing of the site, I'd be interested in comparing that with what I decided.)

[Tyke O'Brahe]

Something I actually feel I know something about!

You want to have him sign a contract agreeing that he recognizes he's bought a template - nothing more, nothing less. You are NOT granting him exclusive rights to that template in any way, shape, or form, and that you, as the designer of that template, are free to use it, sell it, or distribute it in way that you see fit.

Look at it this way - many Flash designers have a distinct style of design - I've seen designers who've done two or three sites for different clients and you can definitely see the design similarities in each one. The designer doing a site for one of those clients does not guarantee the client that he will never do another one similar to it. It remains your intellectual property, you're just letting him buy that particular version of that intellectual property.

This is no different than if you were to have designed his site for him and given him the Fla's after the fact to alter at his will.

Just make sure you have that contract. Once he signs that release agreement, sell him whatever you want, that contract will stand up in a court of law.

Hope this helps/makes sense...

regards

Tyke

[Tyke O'Brahe]

Your site is great! (by the way - I got a very good laugh out of it)

I would recommend, based on the stuff you used and on prices here in San Diego, that you charge somewhere around $1,000 USD.

Considering the types of scripting you used, I think that would be very fair - for him, because he doesn't have to do the scripting, and for you, because you aren't doing any of his graphics.

If you were to do the site for him, I'd say charge him three to four thousand, depending on how much graphics preproduction he would expect you to do.

You're going in my bookmarks - well done )

Tyke

[Tyke O'Brahe]

Sorry about that - darn shortcuts... I meant

[pstroot]

Thanks, that's a huge Help, I appreciate it.

Now I just need to go about the task of drawing up an agreement. If you know of any good sites I could reference as examples let me know.

-Paul

[Tyke O'Brahe]

findlaw.com
legaldocs.com
morebusiness.com

These are just three of the sites that I use to find sample contracts and other legal and small business information.

I would recommend that you find a sales agreement and doctor it for your own purposes. Again, the key is reserving the right to your intellectual property and making the distinction between selling him a template and selling him the rights to that template.

You'll definitely find something very close to what you need on one of these sites, and then you can alter it for your own purposes, include a clause to that effect, and you'll be laughing.

Hope this helps,

Best regards,
Tyke

[Agent_Coop]

You're definately going to need a contract you can add some custom clauses to..otherwise be prepared to have your template sold by the client further down the line..after all they paid for it didn't they?