When this comparison helps
Use this when you have two written proposals, or two versions of one proposal. Its job is to show which terms can be compared and which questions need an answer before anyone chooses. It does not recommend the proposal with the larger headline payment.
Have the proposed records and periods, permitted uses, exclusivity, payment conditions and preparation obligations to hand. Enter a high-level summary of the terms, not a confidential contract or underlying company records. Write unknown where a term has not been agreed.
Put the same decision on both sides
Complete the first proposal, then the second. Describe the actual rights granted, including duration and onward use. Record whether exclusivity applies to a named field of use, the whole dataset or something narrower.
Amounts are optional. Committed payment less your included preparation cost is one cash scenario, not a profit forecast. A contingent amount stays separate even if it sounds likely. Use one currency and one cost basis. Tax, payment timing, continuing work and lost options still need review.
Use the result to request clarification
The output preserves the terms you entered and flags different or missing entries. Different wording is a prompt for a person to check comparability, not a legal or semantic judgment by the tool. Export the record and use its question list to ask each counterparty for a revised or clarified proposal.
If one proposal includes updates and the other is a historical snapshot, first compare the work and rights. Only then ask whether the payment difference compensates for that commitment.
Compare the commitment before comparing cash
A historical contribution permits internal evaluation for a defined task. A second proposal also requests quarterly updates and exclusive use in a wider field. Record the extra work, restricted alternatives and payment triggers as differences. The useful next step is a scope clarification or revised offer, not an automatic ranking.
Compare proposals
A proposal comparison with separate confirmed and contingent economics, rights differences, missing terms and questions for negotiation.
Your entries stay on this page. They are not sent or saved. Use high-level descriptions and leave confidential records out.
Use a printable or editable version
Each version contains instructions, a worksheet and a filled example. The example shows how to describe a decision; it makes no claim about an actual company or offer.
Use the result within its limits
The document records your interpretation. It does not interpret a contract or confirm rights, acceptance or payment.
A larger cash scenario does not automatically compensate for exclusivity, uncertain triggers or continuing obligations.
Sources behind this method
- U.S. Copyright Office: copyright ownership and transfers. U.S. copyright law only: sections 201 and 202 address ownership and distinguish copyright from ownership of a copy; section 204 addresses execution of transfers. These provisions do not establish privacy permissions, contractual authority or rights in an entire company archive.