[thelist] Copyright Issues

[Wes Reed]

Hi All,
         Similar to a recent thread, I have some nagging issues about 
Copyrights.  We generally contract with our clients to license any 
programming to them with the rights to do anything they want with it 
forever but retain ownership.  To us, this makes perfect sense.  It makes 
for a lot of efficiency on the client's behalf.  We  build up a body of 
code that can be customized and used to cut down development time and, 
ultimately the cost to the client.  We have done things this way for 
several years but occasionally (like today) we come across a client who 
can't swallow it.  They seem paranoid about us coming back to restrict what 
they can do or trying to stick them for more money.  They claim that nobody 
works this way and the other bidders did not have this kind of specification.


So my questions are .....

How common is this sort of licensing practice?  We know people who do the 
same but I am wondering if we are just a small minority.

If you do this, do you have suggestions about how to make this palatable to 
the client?

Do you know of any references that would explain/describe this kind of 
agreement?  I have not found too much on the web and have wasted too much 
at Amazon for books that did not address very directly this kind of 
arrangement.

thanks,

Wes