Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Massachusetts

Software written for hire

First off, I took a consulting job for a relatively small amount of money and was careless and did not have them sign an agreement but I built the system for a quoted price of 750 and have several emails clearly stating this. I uploaded the compiled code to his webserver to test. He continued to change the specification and wanted more and more work and never paid me. Then I completely stopped hearing from him and he kept the site on a production server for his client without paying me. Do I have any leg to stand on to get him to remove the site from his system and return it to me?


Asked on 5/18/05, 2:34 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Graves Coolidge & Graves PLLC

Re: Software written for hire

Quickest and easiest (and, most of all, cheapest) way to deal with this is to sue for breach of contract in small claims court. You don't need to hire a lawyer for this (it's like the Peoples' Court TV show, without the histrionics), and your fees are within the jurisdictional limits. The clerks at your local District Court will give you the proper filing forms. Just bring in all your evidence (copies of the e-mails, etc.) when your case is called.

Best wishes,

LDWG

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Answered on 5/18/05, 5:12 am


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