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Subject:FW: 3rd Party Documentation From:Lori <lori -at- CARTIA -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 18 Jan 1999 08:13:07 -0800
I make sure that we put a standard clause in our OEM agreements giving
us--well, okay, *me*--the right to review and revise all third-party
documentation of our product. I do this to ensure document quality and
technical accuracy. I don't want someone with little experience with our
product to mislead users about how our software performs. As a startup
company, we cannot afford to get a bad reputation in any implementation.
Lori Dirks
Documentation Manager
Cartia, Inc.
lori -at- cartia -dot- com
-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Gregory [SMTP:edgregory -at- HOME -dot- NET]
Sent: Sunday, January 17, 1999 2:29 PM
Subject: Re: 3rd Party Documentation
You might check the license you have for that third-party add-on.
Some
people like to control the quality of documentation for their products,
which can reflect well or poorly on the usability of their product.
Therefor, they reserve rights to approve or block reproduction of their
icons, their text, even a discription of the functions of the product.
The important factor here is that you are licensed. In that
license, you
may have agreed to terms that limit your ordinary legal right to publish
instructions, reproduce icons, even review somebody else's product.
If you weren't licensing this product, you'd have more freedom to
document
and review this product as you wish.
At 02:57 PM 1/17/99 -0700, Robert Maxey wrote:
>>My company has produced a database management system which uses, as an
>>additional feature, a database query program. This program was produced
>>by another company and has been licenced to us. What I would like to know
is
>>to what extent I can document this program.
>You can document it as much as you need to document it. Your goal is to
>make the software useable. I hardly think you need permission for this,
>anymore than I need permission from Microsoft to write another Windows
>software Book.
>
>Bob Maxey
>
>=======================================================================
====
>
Ed Gregory http://www.members.home.net/edgregory/search1.htm
