Joe, I don't know the NZ laws, however I'm not interested to know those.
>From my experience I could advise you the following:

1. if your customer is a big company, having a lot of money, forget it
2. if you can't agree with your customer, and you have no time to
loose money and several years from your life, forget it
3. if the lost money can be earned in one to three monts, even you
have right, forget it

It's your choose to do as you want to, I wish you success anyway.

Vasile

On 8/22/05, Jinx <joecolquitt@clear.net.nz> wrote:
> I have a situation. Pretty sure I know my position but want
> to double-check with yous fellas. Some of this is directly
> relevant, some is background. I'd appreciate any views on
> the subject
> 
> I was approached to make a prototype. In fact, by agreement,
> I made six, which were taken away for sale (they weren't in fact
> sold, for a reason I don't think is pertinent here). There was no
> dispute at that time about the bill presented, although it hasn't
> been paid yet. As the bill was presented before the items were
> offered for sale I consider this acceptance. The persons then said
> to me "if you aren't going to be our bulk or ongoing manufacturer,
> we don't want your prototypes, and now we'll have to pay
> someone else to make a prototype". I disagree, because it was I
> who said to them early on that, except in special circumstances,
>  I'm not a manufacturer, I do just prototypes. It's on my business
> card, which I gave them at the very first meeting. Plus, I told them
> to take this prototype, which is finished and so there's no need to
> be making anything else, to a proper mftr for costing and production,
> which I think is pretty clear. To me, it's irrelevant who eventually
> makes them. The persons are not disadvantaged in any way at all
> if I don't do them. Actually they would be better served by someone
> already set up
> 
> So now comes the question of IP. My feeling is this -
> 
> I had no help developing the novel electronic process of executing
> the function of the prototype. Neither did I have any help writing
> the s/w in the prototype. They have not paid the undisputed bill
> (I am still out of pocket for components, components I wouldn't
> use in a month of Sundays). The application they want to use this
> product for is hardly ground-breaking and many other types of
> this product already exist
> 
> Therefore, as no account has been settled and no discussion is
> forthcoming from them about settling 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
> 
> ===============================================
> If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate
> 
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