legal advice for my software

L

lorenzop

Member
I've been working on my hydroponics software for a while now. it's a program to control a greenhouse or grow room. it handles the light timers, pumps, fans, heaters, cameras, ph/nute strength... I only have a simple website up so far growcontrol.com it's coming together and is ready for beta testing, but I haven't prepared for the legal and licensing side of things. this is what has been holding me up lately. I'd like to talk to a lawyer before writing anything in stone, but I'm making a stop here first on the forums. if you understand this stuff give me some guidance.

first, the general direction of licensing. I think the open source community could really help bring my program to it's full potential and destiny. I do like the idea of open source, but this is my baby. somewhere over a year of work put into it, and I'll gladly keep working on it for many years to come. I'm not sure because good things can come from not making it open source also. I know there is a huge potential market out there for my creation and we're sitting on the verge of legalization that could make the market explode. what if my software has what it takes to build a business around it. I'm not greedy, but I'm looking at my livelihood. if a living can be made off this, that would free up my time to continue working on this project as well as others. I could offer technical support by phone and email, fix bugs much faster, and release new versions and features much more often.

there are 2 major parts to the system, hardware and software. the software could be open or closed source, free or a low price to buy, or a mixture of both where there's a free version with an unlock key for more features. I'm leaning harder towards open source with the hardware then I am the software. here's a good example: before the personal computer back in the day, ibm tried to market their own pc. they used off the shelf hardware (open source hardware) in order to build it cheaper and quicker. they paid microsoft to develop the software that ran on it. hence how the term ibm compatible came to be. it was created using existing parts and just needed assembly. ibm lost big on the pc market and microsoft was wise enough to license out their software to the manufacturers.

I think this is where I stand. the software is of my own creation, but the hardware needed to use the software is just a few off the shelf parts. it can be made to work with only a handful of parts from your local radio shack for 10 bucks. that leaves me with only one other option if I'd like to make any sort of income from the project, the software. I can assemble the hardware into kits and sell them relatively cheap for people who can't solder, but as soon as it does well, some foreign company can step in and mass produce their own version. the software is what I can control with whatever licensing method I choose. I don't like the idea of forcing people to pay money for the software, but at the same time, you can't feed yourself by working for free. I need legal guidance and your ideas.
 
K

knuks

Active Member
It is a very tough question to answer without knowing more about the exact software and what hardware is required to make it operate.

I think you should decide which market you are going to strive for, which depends on who you believe is most likely to purchase your product and for how much. Is it more likely that large growers will buy it so they don't have to do much work? Or is it more likely that someone would buy it and set it up in their own home?

As for the hardware, it would probably be helpful to package it and ship it to people that purchase the software package on your site. The person that wants this is the same person that is going to buy a hydro set up online rather than making one themselves. Think of setting it up in 2 ways: 1) buy it and download it off the website (no hardware shipped- buy your own), and 2) buy it, be able to download, and have the cd, hardware, and detailed instructions on use arrive through the mail. [make this option way better, but cost like $5 more]

Personally I think that if you try to market it to companies or large growers, it will fail. If you can create something that you can sell to a customer and the customer can turn around and set up a grow with minimal effort and minimal maintence required, then I think you could make profit.

I would keep it private and have friends or consultants look at and improve the software. If you do, remember to have everyone that sees the software sign to a non-disclosure agreement.
 
L

lorenzop

Member
knuks said:
It is a very tough question to answer without knowing more about the exact software and what hardware is required to make it operate.
Click to expand...
the hardware could be a 12 volt wall transformer, a relay, and a transistor. solder it together and plug it into the printer port. that's the simplest way to do it, but I prefer usb which can be more complex but more reliable.

knuks said:
I think you should decide which market you are going to strive for, which depends on who you believe is most likely to purchase your product and for how much. Is it more likely that large growers will buy it so they don't have to do much work? Or is it more likely that someone would buy it and set it up in their own home?
Click to expand...
I'm pointing marketing toward personal use and hobbyists. commercial growers might be interested in the system, but they have the money to buy the expensive setups which have already been proven reliable.

I think it will be successful with the support of the mmj community, but I don't know how much of an impact the decision of open or closed source software would have. maybe most people wouldn't even care because they can't write programs?

ok, I'm pretty sure selling the software is the way to go, but I really had my heart set on open source. at least the hardware will be. I'll put together instruction pdf's for people who want to attempt building their own, then I'll sell kits online that are ready to plug in and use.
 
G

growone

Well-Known Member
always interesting what you can find here
i've never sold software, but i have considered it from time to time
in general, people are much more likely to pay for a system than software
making money from open source is challenging, some have done it though
 
K

knuks

Active Member
Honestly if you let people know how to make the hardware, it really isn't going to have a large impact on your sales. Most people are just going to buy your hardware that is already soldered rather than purchasing the parts separatly and doing it themselves.

The other thing that is a huge concern here is liability if someone's house burns down and they relied on your product and your guarantees. You can never be 100% sure that your hardware will not emit a spark or even that your software malfunctions when someone leaves it on too long (light don't turn off, etc.). To avoid this you need detailed warnings that would cover as much as you can possibly think of (go see a lawyer when you make instructions). Example, make sure you instruct people to never leave the system unattended for longer than 24 hours without checking it. (most people probably will do this, but you warned them not to)

If you set up a corporation or a LLC you would only be liable for your investment, meaning nobody can personally sue you. However, you MUST always act through the corporation and have a separate bank account for corporate activities. The entity you create would pay you a monthly salary, but make sure you don't act as if the corporation is just your way to avoid liability. The most obviously way to fuck this up would be to use the corporation/LLC's bank account as if it is your personal account.

If you want to look into creating a limited liability entitity, I believe that LegalZoom.com has easy ways for you to do it yourself.

Good luck, hope it takes off. I'm a law student and have some basic understandings but if you want to know laws for where ever you live I can try to figure out specific questions if you let me know.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top