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Ice2257

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 4, 2008
89
0
Hello all you app developers out there



First off Happy Holidays to all



I know this might be the wrong forum for this but I have to ask this question and I am trying to get some feedback.



Say you,the developer (x), created a free app for someone(y) and they paid you for it, and the app will live in your "store". Should they get the source code also and the build? or just the build? or just the code?



Need your input please.





-craig
 
Well I can only speak from a position of working within UK law, but my clients always pay me on a time and materials basis and they can have any of the work I produce for them (including source code) that they have paid me for. I generally assign them full rights to the source code too.

The only exceptions to the above are common/shared code of mine that I use from project to project (most of which is open sourced anyway) plus other open source projects and I make this clear in my contract.
 
Very common work-for-hire rules in many jurisdictions give the ownership of copyright to the customer who paid for the creation of that work. (But check with a lawyer in your own state/country).

However this can be (and often is) changed by what's agreed upon in the contract terms before starting work. So many developers often don't agree to provide any source code or copyright ownership, in the contract terms, unless the client pays extra for them.
 
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