Gert Says
a rather irreverent discusssion
New Copyright Wrinkle
I just came across a new twist on copyrights, which some of you might want to add to your list of rights to acquire: right to programing code.
Say you develop or have developed for you an interactive presentation. You might have it on a CD-ROM for distribution to clients or as part of a laptop presentation or on your web site. To create such a presentation requires programming code development. Many people might not realize they are programing, because the coding is done behind the scenes by the software they are using, but they are. There is a definite program being developed for each presentation and as such łthis combination of instructions to the computer˛, ie code and has copyright rights attached to it.
When you buy the end product, the rights to this code are not necessarily considered part of the product. What does this mean? It may mean you have limited rights to its distribution. It definitely means you shouldnąt adapt the presentation for other uses or even update it for it intended use. So make sure your rights for work developed outside of your business are clearly defined.
And designers make sure you clearly defined for what rights you are granting licenses to your clients.
Everyone remember that images taken without permission are considered stolen!
