[consulting] Proper Collections Procedure

[Gary Feldman]

Laura Scott wrote:
> What a great discussion. I don't think I can add anything, except I 
> would quibble with this:
>
> On Aug 17, 2006, at 6:11 AM, Gary Feldman wrote:
>
>> Be prepared to deliver incomplete, intermediate code if they want it 
>> - if they're paying every two weeks, they own the stuff you've done 
>> for what they've paid.
>
> This would apply only in work-for-hire situations. In the US, unless 
> the contract explicitly says it's work-for-hire, or you're an employee 
> of the company, then the contract itself is where what is owed to whom 
> upon termination is all specified. A contractor owns all legal and 
> moral rights to her work until and unless she assigns rights or 
> licensing to the client, but for a work-for-hire contractor or 
> employee, legal and moral rights to his work are owned by his employer 
> or contractor. (IANAL, so please don't count on this as legal advice.)
You're correct about the legal aspects.  I didn't mean that remark to be 
a legal conclusion, and should have been clearer.

I disagree about the moral rights, unless I'm misinterpreting what you 
mean by it.  I'd say that once you've been paid for a work (and barring 
other mitigating factors), the customer has the moral right to it, 
whether or not you've taken the legal steps needed to assign those rights.

Gary