That really is a hard issue, for the seller as well as the buyer. Since
I've got a few VFP components in development, I'm concerned for both
sides.
As a buyer, we need to be assured the product will continue to be
supported for as long as we depend on it; or we need access to it's
source code.
As a vendor, we don't want to create or feed the competition. Since our
eggs are in the source code basket (for the most part, though our
ability to create and maintain is arguably of great importance as well),
I see two major concerns: (a) once a copy is out of our physical
possession, anything is possible, and (b) selling the business would be
very hard to do if it's primary assets are not protected by physical
lock and key.
The 1st concern is further complicated by the prospect of someone
reverse engineering the product, which can happen anywhere in the world
(someone working for a buck an hour to decipher/flowchart an
applications logic can break almost anything). At this time, it *seems*
like this isn't a big problem, as is, say, spyware today, but it's a
valid concern for the long haul. I've decided that I'm not going to
worry about this because I'm more of a partner with my customers than a
blackbox seller.
The 2nd concern can be mitigated by promising customers there will
continuity of the product in some fashion, i.e. either continued support
from the buyer of our company, or, if we get hit by a truck or go out of
business, they would be given copies of the source code.
Conclusion: recommendation to Alex (and ourselves) to provide these
assurances.
Bill
> > Did you receive source code with the product?
>
> No - no source code. This was a concern of mine as well. But
> sometimes you just need to say the hell with it and push on
> through. That's what I chose to do in this case.
>
> Malcolm
©2005 Bill Arnold |
