Open source, closed source, and the value of code

[Richard Gaskin]

Mark Wieder wrote:

 > Yesterday I was handed an nda to sign. There was a clause (yes,
 > I actually do read these things) that started "Neither party will
 > publicly disclose the existence of this document..." I recoiled,
 > this caused a huddle of half a dozen people for several minutes,
 > the company lawyer came over and sheepishly crossed out the
 > paragraph, and we went on.

Good lawyer.

I know a lot of developers starting out who get timid about asking for 
contract changes. I had the good fortune of cutting my teeth in that 
area under an excellent manager who taught me about doing contract 
review with our clients' corporate counsel with this:

"Their job is to ask for the world.  Your job is to ask for half of it 
back."

-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Systems
  Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
  ____________________________________________________________________
  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com                http://www.FourthWorld.com