{"id":5075,"date":"2016-04-04T10:47:54","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/smallbusiness\/intellectual-property\/use-a-software-development-agreement-to-protect-your-copyright.html"},"modified":"2024-05-22T21:56:33","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T02:56:33","slug":"use-a-software-development-agreement-to-protect-your-copyright","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/smallbusiness\/intellectual-property\/use-a-software-development-agreement-to-protect-your-copyright.html","title":{"rendered":"Use a Software Development Agreement to Protect your Copyright"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Use a Software Development Agreement to Protect your Copyright<\/h1>\n
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A software development agreement is essential to give each of the parties what they need and avoid disputes; but if a legal dispute should arise, a software development agreement<\/a> illustrates what the parties’ terms to the agreement were.<\/p>\n

A lawyer is not always needed to draft the agreement, but it is a good idea to seek legal advice before entering into any formal contract<\/a>.This article gives some important elements that should be included in software development agreements.<\/p>\n

Project Steps<\/h2>\n

Organize the agreement into steps or phases of work throughout the project. The agreement<\/a> should specify the finished product of each step and the amount to be paid once that finished product is delivered. Require the client to sign off on each step upon its completion. Organizing the agreement into project steps will help in several ways, such as<\/p>\n