Description
This is the same nature of agreement as the Evaluation Agreement forming Contract 51 in that it affords, this time a potential distributor, the opportunity of assessing software before embarking upon full marketing under a distribution agreement with the software owner.
It is particularly important for a potential distributor to ask for such an option in the case of a new software program which has not as yet gone through the rigours of widespread use and to minimise the distributor’s own potential liability where the proposed distribution agreement provides that the distributor accepts the software “as is”, which term is commonplace in non-consumer agreements.
An option period may also be of use if the proposed distributor requires to port, convert, translate or modify software before marketing can commence or to assess any product’s supportability.
Whatever the reason, an Option Agreement can prove a useful instrument in buying time to assess a product before entering into a binding commitment with the supplier.
