Who Owns the Source Code?

A customer had added to an application and requesting that we do some minor take a shot at their current application. I let him know that we would need access to the source code so the customer retreated to the first designer to get the source code just to find that the engineer guaranteed the source code as his protected innovation and declined to give it. Tragically, this is not the first occasion when I’ve seen this source code possession issue. Here are a percentage of the ramifications of not having the source code to your application:

• You are forever tied to the developer. Any modification, bug fix, or upgrade has to go through that developer. This is problematic because the developer could raise the price of development and is problematic if that developer becomes sick, busy with other projects, etc.
• Raising funds or selling your project becomes more difficult because there’s a question of who owns the intellectual property.

Common Law

(Disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer; if this is a concern, please get good legal counsel). In general, the author of content owns the copyright. In the case of a software developer, it’s the person physically typing on the key board to create the code. An exception occurs under the “Work for Hire” doctrine where the work is developed by an employee with the scope of their employment. However, when contractors are used, this becomes a little more unclear.

Personal Opinion

If I hire someone to buy a house, at the end of the project, I want the keys to it. In a similar fashion, if I pay someone to develop an app for me, I would expect to have the source code upon completion. this is our general policy. The exception is when we develop an app based off one of our templates. In which case, the template is our intellectual property.

Proposals

On the off chance that you are having an application created by a foreman, have an open discourse about the source code proprietorship as a feature of the reviewing procedure. On the off chance that you don’t concur with their source code approach, proceed onward. In the event that you choose to run with that designer, verify the responsibility for source code is spelled out in the agreement.