Last year I sent a proposal to a client. Standard stuff or so I thought.
They sent back a contract. I skimmed it. It looked fine.
Buried in clause 8 was a payment term that said invoices were due "within a reasonable timeframe after project completion." No number. No deadline. Just vibes.
They paid 4 months later. Technically, they didn't breach anything.
I was reviewing a "standard service agreement" last year. Clause 5 said all work product including rejected drafts becomes the client's exclusive property across all related categories. Forever.
I'm a developer. That clause would have handed them rights over anything I built in that industry for future clients too.
I negotiated it out. They accepted within an hour. They didn't even realize what their own contract said.
