from Hacker News

Ask HN: Open-Source Legal Documents?

by funerr on 2/6/23, 9:12 PM with 5 comments

I really hate the idea that legal documents present such a barrier to people starting a business. Is there a GitHub repo with generally good legal documents to most needs? (Content site/SaaS/one time payment/affiliate site/ads)

  • by transpute on 2/6/23, 9:30 PM

    This one has a handful of contracts:

    https://commonpaper.com/committee

    > Agreements are created by a committee of dozens of attorneys representing technology vendors, procurement teams, boutique firms, and Big Law ... Say goodbye to combing through the same clauses over and over and hello to structured, easily negotiated agreements that get everyone on the same page

    There were also some open-source term sheets, this 2014 article has some pointers, haven't checked to see if they are maintained, https://www.openlawlab.com/2014/08/05/githubbing-law/

  • by lcnPylGDnU4H9OF on 2/6/23, 9:21 PM

    I've never started a business but if I did, this is something I would steer away from. If I'm not paying an attorney to write a document and explain why they include certain things, it would be foolish to trust it would hold up under court scrutiny. That's even assuming that I'm okay with how businesses and consumers reach "agreements" under the Terms of Service / Privacy Policy model.