So I just hired a 3rd party contractor for the first time via odesk. (If it matters, he is located in Asia, my company is in the US.) What kind of legal contract should I get him to sign to protect my rights to the work? Any templates out there I can use without paying a lawyer? :)
These cover most of the situations you'll end up in with business. You can probably do better if you hire a lawyer, but more than once I've talked with a judge about a contract written by a lawyer that had non-sequitors in it.
The oDesk terms of service do have clauses which give you ownership of the work done. Realistically, though, what are you going to do if he's in Asia? It's hard enough just suing someone in a different US state.
Oops guess I should have read those ToS for once. :) And I agree essentially with your other point, but mostly wanted to protect myself from being sued.
http://www.nolo.com/products/contracts-ctrct.html
These cover most of the situations you'll end up in with business. You can probably do better if you hire a lawyer, but more than once I've talked with a judge about a contract written by a lawyer that had non-sequitors in it.