Legible Collaboration Contracts
This is a non-profit idea I've been kicking around for a while. Let me know if it resonates; I'm not sure if I'll take it forward.
The idea: A set of readable, easily customizable contracts for casual collaboration.
As costs decrease we’ll see more and more ad hoc collaboration. Easy contracts help set expectations at the beginning and ensure teammates are on the same page.
The audience would be makers / coders / hobbyists who are collaborating on side-projects that might someday be worth something. The actual form of the contract might be an Articles of Partnership and the process of creating it would be a multiple choice survey taken by the collaborators.
The contracts would have options relating to copyright ownership (or more broadly reputation / credit) as well as entitlement to future revenue streams. There would also be terms related to vesting (or some variant of sticking with the project to retain ownership) and perhaps a kill switch where the project would enter public domain in case of a feud or breakup of the team.
The strongest influence here is definitely Creative Commons - they make it insanely easy for a creator to clearly communicate how their work can be used. There’s no need for legal knowhow and the legibility empowers others to remix and share in ways the creator is comfortable.
If this resonates with you, let me know. It’s been on my mind for a while but there might not be enough demand right now...