Selling Software?

[matt1776]

Ive created a small program that could be of some utility to students of all shapes and sizes. In my complete arrogance, I believe that I could actually charge a small fee for distributing this software to prospective 'customers'.

I would like to know if there is anything specific I would have to do in order to proceed in a legal manner. Besides the issue of attempting to make the software un-shareable and compiling the source as much as possible (yes i realize there are limitations here as well) .. what do I need to include in terms of licensing? Is there some specific legaleese I need to include in my source code? In my installer? On my download page?

Ive done some googling with limited success, wanted to stop by the shed to see if anyone had any experience with this, or if I might be able to get some referrals to very simple 'shareware' type sites that are selling software.

Any help is much appreciated. Please dont flame!

[felgall]

The first thing you need to decide is how you intend to sell the software. There are basically two methods.

1. Shareware - where you allow people to download and start using the software and if they like it then they pay for it.
2. A more traditional approach where they pay for it before they download it.

The important things to contain in the software licence relate to what you do and don't permit people to do with your software. For example if you go with the shareware approach you will probably limit the trial period to say one month and then require that if they wish to continue using it that they must then pay for it. You probably will want to limit the number of computers they can run it on and may also want to limit the things they can use it for.

[matt1776]

Regarding the more traditional approach are there stated examples of such liscensces on the web? Im not a lawyer so it would not be easy for me to concoct such a document on my own.

Im not expecting great ROI on this project, but a few bucks would be nice. Of all the protection schemes ive taken a look at so far, one of which includes some kind of client/server model, im not sure its worth the trouble.

If I can get even a few people to just say to themselves 'aw screw it heres a few bucks" then ive won. Other than that, modifying the code to make the program die after a few tries isnt really worth it to me.

But It would be nice to come up with some kind of stock verbage .. and be done with it. Do you .. or do you know of .. any resources out there for this sort of thing? Or should i just scour the net for someone elses?

[Watts]

I think most people just "plow ahead" and make it up as they go. Ignorance is bliss. If you start a "company" then you can pay taxes on your income (but you can also write off your expenses!). Check as see if there's not a local small business group that can point you in the right direction for legal advice which may even be free. You may also want to check into some of the software developers message boards for licensing stuff and disclaimers.

<EDIT>My brother wrote a program for calculators about 20 years ago and he still gets $$ every now and then</EDIT>