> >I have a situation. Pretty sure I know my position but want
> > to double-check with yous fellas. Some of this is directly
> > 
> 
> Ask a lawyer

Hi Ken,

I am seeking a legal opinion as it applies in NZ. I thought the
topic worthy of at least a little discussion, if only to get people
thinking about their own dealings

> - this is the wrong place.

Not wishing to be argumentative....but I disagree ;-) There are
plenty of people here who have a vested interest in IP law

> What does your written contract say?  Prototypes or proto and 
> production ?

Just prototypes, quite clearly. That's mostly what's annoying
me, that they've come back and said I agreed to make a
production run. I don't do production runs and simply wouldn't
say otherwise

> How much was the bill?  If small, you may want to just eat
> it, if the bill is large, talk with a lawyer

Well, it's worth going after, particularly if I don't have to employ
someone to get it

> You said the protos didn't sell.  Is it possible that the product
> may be a "no starter" for them and they are using the above as
> an excuse to cut payments for a product that won't sell well or
> be cost effective ?

The original six aren't cost effective. They priced them at $10
less than they cost to make. If they doubled the price they still
wouldn't be anywhere near what other products sell for. But
that's their poor management, nothing to do with me. As I said,
they accepted my bill, and at this stage that's all I want settled.
It's just that someone else has raised the question of IP and it
seemed prudent to at least look into it

> > I own all the physical materials
> > I own the s/w copyright
> > I own the IP/copyright of the prototype and its novel process
> 
> Probably true, ask a lawyer.  The real question however, is what
> are you planning to do if they don't pay ?  It appears you want to
> keep the rights to everything

Not necessarily. It's a product that doesn't particularly interest me
and I would have been prepared to sell off the rights

> In any case, you may want to keep full documentation of the
> product, including source code. It is possible that these guys
> may have someone reverse engineer your design and do a
> re-layout and even use your code.  Proof that they copied the
> unpaid-for prototype is a good lawsuit

I doubt it's going to go that far. They're strictly small potatoes
and I can honestly see this just fizzling out. I firmly believe they
know they've stuffed up and are just wriggling

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