Software development disputes

Software development disputes are like any other contract dispute except the subject matter of the contract can be difficult to ascertain in some circumstances.  Dundas Lawyers^®, an award winning, technically savvy law firm, has experience in acting for both software developers and purchasers of software development services both inside and outside of court.

What exactly is a software development dispute?

A contract for the development of software is at its heart a commercial contract that provides for a party to develop software for another.  Of course, this is a simplistic because in practice it is much more complicated involving legal issues associated with intellectual property creation, ownership the scope of work and payment.  Since 2011 we’ve found that the issues at the core of software development disputes include:

• ownership of the source code that is developed by the developer;
• assignment versus licensing of the developer’s background IP;
• what background IP can and cannot be assigned to the client;
• whether the actual person writing the code is an employee or contracted to the developer;
• whether the scope of work is defined clearly enough to enable variations to be identified and actioned;
• whether it’s clear whether the scope of work is a ‘fixed price’ or an ‘estimate only’;
• whether any anticipated timeframes are contractually binding or not;
• which party must pay for the cost of the respective development and production environments for example;
• what third party software is incorporated into the deliverables;
• how is the ongoing support and maintenance to be dealt with;
• the software development methodology to be followed and whether it is fully or partly waterfall or fully or partly agile (or a combination of the two) for example;
• obligations and responsibility for testing; and
• the obligations on the client’s representative to provide any sign-off’s and any other tasks required to be performed in timely manner.

In most cases there are a plethora of other factors to be considered to determine the exact contract between the parties and whether one of them has breached of their obligations.  Our experience has been that a well drafted software development agreement coupled with consistent supporting systems and processes goes a long way to ensuring that disputes don’t arise in the first place.

One of the common issues is determining precisely what amounts to a “variation”, with the result being that ambiguity arises.  In many disputes about the development of software the contract is formed by the exchange of several hundred emails.  This is where Dundas Lawyers^® excels as these sorts of disputes benefit greatly from our forensic case development process.

Recent videos about software development disputes by Dundas Lawyers^®

Disclaimer
This page contains general commentary only about software development disputes.  You should not rely on the commentary as legal advice.  Specific legal advice should be obtained to ascertain how the law applies to your particular circumstances.

Why choose Dundas Lawyers^®?

Having exerted Blood Sweat and Years^® since April 2010 we are the team you want on your side for the long term to act as the ‘bodyguard‘ for your business, to protect its intellectual property or to stand up for your rights in a dispute about the development of software. Some of the reasons clients choose Dundas Lawyers^® include:

• our Uncommon business acumen;
• our Uncommon expertise in transactional, compliance and litigious matters;
• our Uncommon expertise forensic case preparation;
• our Uncommon customer focus;
• the fact that we don’t just know law, we know business!
• how we leverage our Uncommon Nous^® to provide client centric solutions.

Considering getting a lawyer to advise your business on a software development dispute?

For a confidential, no obligation initial telephone call to find out how we can help your business gain an uncommon advantage in initiating or defending a software development dispute please phone our team on either 1300 386 529 or 07 3221 0013.

Malcolm Burrows B.Bus.,MBA.,LL.B.,LL.M.,MQLS.
Legal Practice Director
T: +61 7 3221 0013 (preferred)
M: +61 419 726 535
E: mburrows@dundaslawyers.com.au

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