Re: Website Maintenance Agreements

Friends,

The discussion seems to be getting a bit personal with motives being
attached to people. I wish we stay on the subject and would like to see a
simple contract which would broadly cover the major considerations like
design, hosting, maintenance and even submission to search engine issues.
This kind of sample contract would be a big help to small timers like me.

Someone mentioned about an MOU which covers pre-contract activities. This is
very interesting as I have usually experienced this anxiety (I am sure most
of you have too) about finally netting the client while discussing or rather
counselling him before we sign the contract. Sometimes I have to make a
decision about what ideas not to discuss with him for fear of giving him my
ideas and then losing them alongwith the client in the event he chooses some
other agency. How can we tackle this issue ? Would a Non Disclosure
Agreement (NDA) be appropriate ? If yes, where can we lay hands on sample
agreements / contracts ?

Thanks in Advance

Ajit Thadhani
ajit(at)bom6.vsnl.net.in

----- Original Message -----
From: Cynthia Hamilton <subscribe(at)actionhost.net>
To: <hwg-business(at)hwg.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 08, 2000 12:50 AM
Subject: RE: Website Maintenance Agreements


> This is "nonresponsive to the question" as lawyers would say.  I was
asking
> for ideas for structuring a maintenance agreement, not a critique of an
> existing contract, for which I gave no information.  And since Ivan was
the
> only one who "misread" my post, I doubt that it was unclear.  I have
> received many suggestions that were completely responsive to my question.
> It's more likely that since Ivan is always looking to point out how people
> on this list are incapable of handling anything involving contract/legal
> issues, that that is how he read it.
>
> Since Ivan is not a professional web developer, he is giving advice on
> something he knows nothing about.  No matter how tight your contract is,
it
> is impossible to define exactly what the client wants without the work
> having already been done.  It's like asking someone to paint a picture for
> someone and having it turn out perfect the first time, based on the
> designer's interpretation of what the client described in words.
>
> Clients will often make suggested changes, regardless of whether it's
> allowed in the contract.  It's the designer's job to limit changes to the
> contract terms, and make new agreements for additional work.  There was
> nothing in my e-mail to indicate otherwise. This is the experience that
Ivan
> doesn't have, since he's not a designer. And since I wasn't asking for
> advice what I may have done wrong with the previous contract, his comments
> were unwarranted and patronizing.
>
> Sorry for the length, but I seriously doubt the integrity of someone who
is
> on this list SOLELY to drive business to his site.  His advice only
helpful
> if you're looking to be told that you can't handle the issue yourself and
> need a lawyer who specializes in this arena (namely him.) And since he is
> not a professional designer, he is often mistaken as to his assumptions
> about this line of work.
>
> Cynthia
>
>
>
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-hwg-business(at)hwg.org [mailto:owner-hwg-business(at)hwg.org]On
> > Behalf Of Ivan Hoffman
> > Sent: Friday, July 07, 2000 10:41 AM
> > To: Cynthia Hamilton; hwg-business(at)hwg.org
> > Subject: RE: Website Maintenance Agreements
> >
> >
> > At 09:38 AM 7/7/00 -0700, Cynthia Hamilton wrote:
> > >Ivan - you misread my post. (Not a good sign coming from an
> > attorney trying
> > >to get business off this list.)
> >
> > No need for sarcasm.  If I misread your post, perhaps it was because the
> > post was not clear.  It struck me and still strikes me that you
> > have failed
> > to cover extra work in your agreement and that may be because you have
> > failed to adequately define the site and what is covered by the price.
> >
> > IVAN HOFFMAN, B.A., J.D.
> > Attorney At Law
> > Lawyering With Integrity (sm)
> > Internet Law, Copyrights, Trademarks, Writing and Publishing Law, Web
> > Design Contracts and Law, Business Plans, Web Site Audits, Recording and
> > Music Law.  *A Four Times Award-Winning Site.*
> > http://www.ivanhoffman.com
> >
> >
> >
>
>

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