Hi tptacek :-) I think you raise some good points. I'm new to the legal side of things so it's helpful to get some additional perspectives. I do think, for w

Hi tptacek :-) I think you raise some good points. I'm new to the legal side of things so it's helpful to get some additional perspectives. I do think, for whatever reason, somehow we seem to be in a position to dictate terms. I'm not sure if it's a function of our niche specifically (iOS) or if it's just the adage that good hackers have enough leverage to ask for things, if it's the fact that we're small and our costs are low and we don't have to take on that many projects, or exactly what it is. I'm thinking of three examples specifically, where we've dealt with midsize companies (20-50), and they said "We won't do these terms" and we said "OK, good luck with your project." All three ended up signing. And in retrospect it's a really good thing they did end up signing those kinds of terms, and if we had given on some things we would be up a creek right now. Now obviously sample size fail and such, anecdotes are not data, etc. Maybe having a looser contract would open us up to a better quality client, or a better paying client. But IMHO the chief advantage of contracting vs going to work for somebody else is the ability to choose who you work for. And if a strict contract self-selects some of those people out I actually view it as a success.