News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Is it ethical to keep a copy of the code or designs you did for your employer, for your reference?. Parent comment

Re:Is it ethical to keep a copy of the code or designs you d... by randallsquared on Thursday August 02, 2007 @11:42AM (#38717)
I write software as the largest part of my business, and I don't think I've ever been asked to assign copyright to the purchaser. I go out of my way to point out in written materials that I use licenses like GPL, BSD, and put stuff in the public domain when that's compatible with library licenses and such, but no client has ever actually asked me about that.

In my experience, people who are buying custom software don't even think about copyrights and licenses; it just never occurs to them.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Is it ethical to keep a copy of the code or designs you d... by staunch on Thursday August 02, 2007 @08:29PM (#38873)
It depends entirely on how savvy your clients are. Do some work for a company that has an IP lawyer and you can see the difference. The way it usually works is that you grant them a non-exclusive perpetual license to the software but maintain ownership yourself. If they want ownership you charge an additional 20% on the total cost, or whatever. I recommend contractors having their own contracts drafted by a lawyer and not signing client-provided ones. Much easier to be fair that way.
[ Parent | on HN ]