BKLGLCMP.RVW  941010
 
"The Software Developer's and Marketer's Legal Companion", Landy, 1993, 0-201-
62276-9, U$34.95/C$44.95
72366.2456@compuserve.com
%A   Gene K. Landy
%C   26 Prince Andrew Place, Don Mills, Ontario   M3C 2T8
%C   1 Jacob Way, Reading, MA   01867-9984
%D   1993
%G   0-201-62276-9
%I   Addison-Wesley Publishing Company
%O   U$34.95/C$44.95 416-447-5101 fax: 416-443-0948 
%O   800-822-6339 Fax: 617-944-7273
%O   73171.657@Compuserve.com tiffanym@aw.com barbarw@aw.com
%P   548
%T   "The Software Developer's and Marketer's Legal Companion"
 
Of a work in another field, I said that the term "companion" was unjustified. 
In this case, the title is valid.  Landy's book is generic, as it must be in
this most unstable of fields, but is well-presented and of value in many
aspects of the business.
 
The book itself only takes up about half the space in this volume.  I have
frequently noted authors who dwell too much on specific U.S. instances of their
topic.  Landy, while using American statutes and cases, deals with the general
legal concepts.  Thus, this work is probably widely applicable with recourse to
local advice for particular details.  Topics include copyright, trade secrets,
employee non-competition, negotiations, beta test and evaluation agreements,
assignments, developing and publishing agreements, shrink-wrap licenses and
warranties, end-user agreements, liability, trade marks, patents, intellectual
property and choosing a lawyer.
 
The latter half of the book includes a number of legal resources, the bulk of
which are sample forms and agreements for legal business.  These are also
included on a 1.2M diskette in both WordPerfect 5.1 and ASCII format.
 
For the small software developer or marketer, this is worth many times the
cover price.  Its value lies not only in the drafting of legal documents, but
in an understanding of what can, and what can't, be protected.  As such, this
book can help direct the product development and marketing long before legal
agreements become necessary.
 
(Postscriptum - as usual, the author has had a chance to respond to the draft
review.  He liked it, but asked me to add that "the book is not meant to
substitute for legal counsel, but it is intended to make the reader a smarter
consumer of legal services -- and help you know when you do or don't need
counsel."  This is sound advice.  But wouldn't you just know, it sounds just
like a software license disclaimer  :-)
 
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994   BKLGLCMP.RVW  941010

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