California | Technology Law
Legal Question
software development agreement
I am developing a software package with another person - I am doing the technical work and he will do sales/marketing. I will spend about 150 hours x $100/hr writing the software. He thinks he can sell 20-30 within a few months for about $2000 with little or no marketing effort because of his contacts in the market. After that, it may take some advertising.
He originally proposed a partnership with a 50/50 split of the sales proceeds. Now he wants to do a buyer/developer contract where he will own the software. He thinks he should deduct expenses from the gross sales and is willing to give me 45% of the gross.
I am concerned that I have invested so much time in the development vs. what will be very little invested by him. After sales of 20-30 packages, I will only be compensated for my time. He will be seeing almost all profit. If he wants to do a buyer/developer contract, should he pay me for my development time or is 45% of the gross adequate compensation?
What is the typical contract for software development? I have been told that I should retain ownership of the code and license the software to him. Then, if he doesn't do enough marketing I can do my own marketing and sell it myself.
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