Don’t Grant Feedback Licenses or Assignments
Feedback licenses and assignments create a mess for the customer. And they’re not necessary for the vendor. Here’s a better clause.
Don’t Grant Feedback Licenses (Do this Instead)
Please click here for an updated version of this post. The feedback license appears in many tech contracts. It usually gives the vendor a broad, perpetual license to any “feedback” from the customer’s staff: any suggestion about the vendor’s products and services. Sometimes the clause goes further, assigning ownership of feedback to the vendor. (Click […]
The Anti-NDA for Idea Submissions (Instead of the “Feedback License”)
In an earlier post, I explained that the standard “feedback license” arises out of a misunderstanding of IP — and generally asks too much from the would-be licensor. After some kvetching in the comments from Professor Eric Goldman, I suggested a “Disclaimer of Idea Restrictions” instead of a feedback license. Since then, I’ve expanded on […]
Instead of a “Feedback License,” Draft a Disclaimer of Idea Restrictions
In last week’s post, I addressed the myth of idea ownership. I explained that no one can own an abstract idea. I also argued that, therefore, no one needs a “feedback license.” In a feedback license, a company’s contractors or partners give it a license to any suggestions they provide about the company’s products or […]
No One Can Own an Abstract Idea (So You Don’t Need a “Feedback License”)
Technology companies often worry about ownership of ideas they hear. If a contractor or partner gives us an idea, do we need a license to use it? What if it’s an idea about our own product or service? The concern often prompts a “feedback license”: a sentence or two tacked onto a contract about professional […]