Independent Contractor Agreement
This Agreement is made between ____________ ("Client"), with a principal place of business at _______________ and _____________ ("Consultant"), with  a principal place of business at _______________.
1.	Services Performed by Consultant
[Choose one]
[   ] Consultant agrees to perform the following services for Client: _______________.
[   ] Consultant agrees to perform the services described in Exhibit A, which is attached to and made part of this Agreement.
2.	Consultant's Payment
[Choose one]
[   ] Consultant shall be paid $_____ upon execution of this agreement and $_____ upon completion of the work as detailed in Clause 1.
[   ] Client shall pay Consultant a fixed fee of $_____, in ______ installments according to the payment schedule described in Exhibit [A or B] which is attached to and made part of this Agreement.
[   ] Consultant shall be compensated at the rate of $_____ per [Choose one] hour/day/week/month. [Optional: Unless otherwise agreed upon in writing by Client, Client's maximum liability for all services performed during the term of this Agreement shall not exceed $______.]
3.	Invoices
Consultant shall submit invoices for all services rendered. Client shall pay the amounts due within ____ days of the date of each invoice.
4.	Late Fees
Late payments by Client shall be subject to late penalty fees of __% per month from the due date until the amount is paid.
5.	Expenses
[Choose one]
[   ] Consultant shall be responsible for all expenses incurred while performing services under this Agreement. [Optional: However, Client shall reimburse Consultant for all reasonable travel and living expenses necessarily incurred by Consultant while away from Consultant's regular place of business to perform services under this Agreement. Consultant shall submit an itemized statement of such expenses. Client shall pay Consultant within 30 days from the date of each statement.]
[   ] Client shall reimburse Consultant for the following expenses that are directly attributable to work performed under this Agreement:
•	travel expenses other than normal commuting, including airfares, rental vehicles, and highway mileage in company or personal vehicles at __ cents per mile
•	telephone, facsimile (fax), online and telegraph charges
•	postage and courier services
•	printing and reproduction
•	computer services, and
•	other expenses resulting from the work performed under this Agreement.
Consultant shall submit an itemized statement of Consultant's expenses. Client shall pay Consultant within 30 days from the date of each statement.
[   ] 6.	Materials
Client shall make available to Consultant, at Client's expense, the following materials, facilities and equipment: ________________________________________. These items will be provided to Client by ______.
7.	Term of Agreement
This Agreement will become effective when signed by both parties and will end no later than ________.
8.	Terminating the Agreement
[Choose one]
[   ] With reasonable cause, either party may terminate this Agreement effective immediately by giving written notice of termination for cause. Reasonable cause includes:
•	a material violation of this agreement, or
•	nonpayment of Consultant's compensation after 20 days written demand for payment.
Consultant shall be entitled to full payment for services performed prior to the effective date of termination.
[   ] Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time by giving [Choose one] 5/10/15/30/45/60 days written notice of termination without cause. Consultant shall be entitled to full payment for services performed prior to the effective date of termination.
9.	Consultant an Independent Contractor
Consultant is an independent contractor, and neither Consultant nor Consultant's staff is, or shall be deemed, Client's employees. In its capacity as an independent contractor, Consultant agrees and represents, and Client agrees, as follows:
[   ] (a)	Consultant has the right to perform services for others during the term of this Agreement subject to noncompetition provisions set out in this Agreement, if any.
[   ] (b)	Consultant has the sole right to control and direct the means, manner and method by which the services required by this Agreement will be performed.
[   ] (c)	Consultant has the right to perform the services required by this Agreement at any place or location and at such times as Consultant may determine.
[   ] (d)	Consultant will furnish all equipment and materials used to provide the services required by this Agreement, except to the extent that Consultant's work must be performed on or with Client's computer or existing software.
[   ] (e)	The services required by this Agreement shall be performed by Consultant, or Consultant's staff, and Client shall not be required to hire, supervise or pay any assistants to help Consultant.
[   ] (f)	Consultant is responsible for paying all ordinary and necessary expenses of its staff.
[   ] (g)	Neither Consultant nor Consultant's staff shall receive any training from Client in the professional skills necessary to perform the services required by this Agreement.
[   ] (h)	Neither Consultant nor Consultant's staff shall be required to devote full-time to the performance of the services required by this Agreement.
[   ] (i)	Client shall not provide insurance coverage of any kind for Consultant or Consultant's staff.
[   ] (j)	Client shall not withhold from Consultant's compensation any amount that would normally be withheld from an employee's pay.
10.	Intellectual Property Ownership
[Choose one]
[   ] Consultant assigns to Client its entire right, title and interest in anything created or developed by Consultant for Client under this Agreement ("Work Product") including all patents, copyrights, trade secrets and other proprietary rights. This assignment is conditioned upon full payment of the compensation due Consultant under this Agreement.
Consultant shall, at no charge to Client, execute and aid in the preparation of any papers that Client may consider necessary or helpful to obtain or maintain—at Client's expense—any patents, copyrights, trademarks or other proprietary rights. Client shall reimburse Consultant for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred under this provision.
[Optional: Client grants to Consultant a nonexclusive, [Choose one: irrevocable license/license for the term of _______ years] to use the Work Product. __[add any payment provisions or other restrictions]__.]
[   ] Consultant shall retain all copyright, patent, trade secret and other intellectual property rights Consultant may have in anything created or developed by Consultant for Client under this Agreement ("Work Product"). Consultant grants Client a nonexclusive worldwide license to use and sublicense the use of the Work Product for the purpose of developing and marketing its products and services but not for the purpose of marketing Work Product separate from its products and services. The license shall have a perpetual term and may not be transferred by Client. This license is conditioned upon full payment of the compensation due Consultant under this Agreement.
11.	Consultant's Materials
Consultant owns or holds a license to use and sublicense various materials in existence before the start date of this Agreement ("Consultant's Materials"). Consultant may, at its option, include Consultant's Materials in the work performed under this Agreement.
[Choose one]
[   ] Consultant retains all right, title and interest, including all copyright, patent rights and trade secret rights in Consultant's Materials. Subject to full payment of the consulting fees due under this Agreement, Consultant grants Client a nonexclusive worldwide license to use and sublicense the use of Consultant's Materials for the purpose of developing and marketing its products and services, but not for the purpose of marketing Background Technology separate from its products and services. The license shall have a perpetual term and may not be transferred by Client. Client shall make no other commercial use of Consultant’s Materials without Consultant's written consent.
[Optional: This license is granted subject to the following terms: ___[add any desired payment or royalty provisions]___.]
[Optional: Consultant's Materials include, but are not limited to, those items identified in Exhibit __, attached to and made part of this Agreement.]
[   ] Consultant retains all right, title and interest, including all copyright, patent rights and trade secret rights in Consultant's Materials. Subject to full payment of the consulting fees due under this Agreement, Consultant grants Client a nonexclusive worldwide license to use the Background Technology in the following product(s) and services: _________________. The license shall have a perpetual term and may not be transferred by Client. Client shall make no other commercial use of the Background Technology without Consultant's written consent.
[Optional: Consultant's Materials include, but are not limited to, those items identified in Exhibit __, attached to and made part of this Agreement.]
12.	Confidentiality
During the term of this Agreement and for __[6 months to 5 years]__ afterward, Consultant will use reasonable care to prevent the unauthorized use or dissemination of Client's confidential information. Reasonable care means at least the same degree of care Consultant uses to protect its own confidential information from unauthorized disclosure.
Confidential information is limited to information clearly marked as confidential, or disclosed orally and summarized and identified as confidential in a writing delivered to Consultant within 15 days of disclosure.
•	Confidential information does not include information that:
•	the Consultant knew before Client disclosed it
•	is or becomes public knowledge through no fault of Consultant
•	Consultant obtains from sources other than Client who owe no duty of confidentiality to Client, or
•	Consultant independently develops.
13.	Warranties
[Choose one]
[   ] Consultant warrants that all services performed under this Agreement shall be performed consistent with generally prevailing professional or industry standards. Client must report any deficiencies in Consultant's services to Consultant in writing within ____ days of performance to receive warranty remedies.
Client's exclusive remedy for any breach of the above warranty shall be the reperformance of Consultant's services. If Consultant is unable to reperform the services, Client shall be entitled to recover the fees paid to Consultant for the deficient services. 
THIS WARRANTY IS EXCLUSIVE AND IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND ANY ORAL OR WRITTEN REPRESENTATIONS, PROPOSALS OR STATEMENTS MADE PRIOR TO THIS AGREEMENT.
[   ] THE GOODS OR SERVICES FURNISHED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT ARE PROVIDED AS IS, WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS; INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
14.	Limitation on Consultant's Liability to Client
(a)	In no event shall Consultant be liable to Client for lost profits of Client, or special, incidental or consequential damages (even if Consultant has been advised of the possibility of such damages).
(b)	Consultant's total liability under this Agreement for damages, costs and expenses, regardless of cause, shall not exceed the total amount of fees paid to Consultant by Client under this Agreement [Optional: or $____, whichever is greater].
(c)	Client shall indemnify Consultant against all claims, liabilities and costs, including reasonable attorney fees, of defending any third party claim or suit, other than for infringement of intellectual property rights, arising out of or in connection with Client's performance under this Agreement. Consultant shall promptly notify Client in writing of such claim or suit and Client shall have the right to fully control the defense and any settlement of the claim or suit.
15.	Taxes
The charges included here do not include taxes. If Consultant is required to pay any federal, state or local sales, use, property or value added taxes based on the services provided under this Agreement, the taxes shall be separately billed to Client. Consultant shall not pay any interest or penalties incurred due to late payment or nonpayment of such taxes by Client.
16.	Contract Changes
Client and Consultant recognize that:
•	Consultant's original cost and time estimates may be too low due to unforeseen events, or to factors unknown to Consultant when this Agreement was made
•	Client may desire a mid-project change in Consultant's services that would add time and cost to the project and possibly inconvenience Consultant, or
•	Other provisions of this Agreement may be difficult to carry out due to unforeseen circumstances.
If any intended changes or any other events beyond the parties' control require adjustments to this Agreement, the parties shall make a good faith effort to agree on all necessary particulars. Such agreements shall be put in writing, signed by the parties and added to this Agreement.
[   ] 17.	Dispute Resolution
If a dispute arises under this Agreement, the parties agree to first try to resolve the dispute with the help of a mutually agreed-upon mediator in ___________. Any costs and fees other than attorney fees associated with the mediation shall be shared equally by the parties.
If it proves impossible to arrive at a mutually satisfactory solution through mediation, the parties agree to submit the dispute to binding arbitration in ___________ under the rules of the American Arbitration Association. Judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court with jurisdiction to do so.
[   ] 18.	Attorney Fees
Attorney Fees: If any litigation or arbitration is necessary to enforce this Agreement, the prevailing party shall be entitled to reasonable attorney fees, costs and expenses.
19.	General Provisions
(a)	Sole agreement: This is the entire Agreement between Consultant and Client.
(b)	Severability: If any part of this Agreement is held unenforceable, the rest of the Agreement will continue in full force and effect.
(c)	Applicable law: This Agreement will be governed by the laws of the State of ___________.
(d)	Notices: All notices and other communications given in connection with this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed given as follows:
•	When delivered personally to the recipient's address as appearing in the introductory paragraph to this Agreement;
•	Three days after being deposited in the United States mails, postage prepaid to the recipient's address as appearing in the introductory paragraph to this Agreement, or
•	When sent by fax or electronic mail. Notice is effective upon receipt provided that a duplicate copy of the notice is promptly given by first-class or certified mail, or the recipient delivers a written confirmation of receipt.
Any party may change its address appearing in the introductory paragraph to this Agreement by giving notice of the change in accordance with this paragraph.
(e)	No partnership: This Agreement does not create a partnership relationship. Consultant does not have authority to enter into contracts on Client's behalf.
(f)	Assignment: This Agreement is freely assignable.

Client:

____________________________________________
(Signature)
______________________
(Typed or Printed Name)
Title: ______________________
Date: ______________________

Consultant:

____________________________________________
(Signature)
______________________
(Typed or Printed Name)
Date: ______________________
Social Security Number: _________________