Don’t Grant Feedback Licenses (Do this Instead)

Please click here for an updated version of this post. The feedback license appears in many tech contracts. It usually gives the vendor a broad, perpetual license to any “feedback” from the customer’s staff: any suggestion about the vendor’s products and services. Sometimes the clause goes further, assigning ownership of feedback to the vendor. (Click […]

The Anti-NDA for Idea Submissions (Instead of the “Feedback License”)

In an earlier post, I explained that the standard “feedback license” arises out of a misunderstanding of IP — and generally asks too much from the would-be licensor. After some kvetching in the comments from Professor Eric Goldman, I suggested a “Disclaimer of Idea Restrictions” instead of a feedback license. Since then, I’ve expanded on […]

Instead of a “Feedback License,” Draft a Disclaimer of Idea Restrictions

In last week’s post, I addressed the myth of idea ownership. I explained that no one can own an abstract idea. I also argued that, therefore, no one needs a “feedback license.” In a feedback license, a company’s contractors or partners give it a license to any suggestions they provide about the company’s products or […]

No One Can Own an Abstract Idea (So You Don’t Need a “Feedback License”)

Technology companies often worry about ownership of ideas they hear. If a contractor or partner gives us an idea, do we need a license to use it? What if it’s an idea about our own product or service? The concern often prompts a “feedback license”: a sentence or two tacked onto a contract about professional […]