How Software Escrow Can Give Your Software Protection
If you already know about escrow, then you know that it protects two parties by using a third, a trusted escrow agent, so it will hardly surprise you to learn that software escrow is a means of protecting both the buyer and the seller of big ticket software. The ability to use escrow for intellectual property like software is not new, it has been around for many years, but not everyone is aware of its use.
For the developers of software, using software escrow is a means of reassuring a buyer, since if you default on the agreement, the software source code may be given to the buyer by the escrow agent. This only happens when certain events are triggered documented in the escrow agreement, like not maintaining the software, but it reassures the purchaser having this documented for expensive software. If you look at escrow through their eyes, you need some sort of reassurance that, after a certain number of years, you or your company will still be in business supporting the software you are using, otherwise they could find themselves having to throw your software out and start all over with another product. As you know, this is hugely time consuming, and expensive, so it makes sense that the purchaser of pricey software needs in place before they purchase it. Then they know that if something happens, perhaps your company is taken over by another, then in the worst case scenario they will at least have the source code of the software to work with.
Not surprisingly there are many agreements for software escrow out there, but most can be easily adjusted to suit your particular needs. If you are the seller of computer software that is pakaged, then you are more likely to need a multi user plan, not the single user plan that is suggested for companies who purchase highly specialized and customized software, that is extremely unlikely to ever be sold to anyone else. A software escrow service can provide you with these documents, which you can adjust to suit your particular requirements.
Before choosing a software escrow service to use, remember to do a thorough check, checking that the company has a good reputation, that there are no negative comments about them on the internet, and do a Better Business Bureau too to find out if there have been any complaints recorded there.
Confirm that they have been around for a time offering escrow services, and of course, check on the pricing for their escrow service. When you have done this, go with the company that you feel most impressed with, and then adjust the escrow agreement so that it suits your needs. Naturally, the party you are dealing with may also want to make some adjustments, so check with the escrow company to see if they will charge you for these updates. {It is useful to know this in advance.Knowing in advance what your fees are liable to be is very valuable}.
Then, having decided on your escrow service, you can complete your software escrow agreement finalised and set in motion, and the buyer, the seller and the escrow agent will be satisfied with the escrow agreement.
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