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Legal issues

Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 10:30 am
by tvsketch
Advice please.


I'm aware that the end product/copyright of a contract/project is in effect owned by the party that paid for the contract and not by the developer, however I'm a little grey on the following:

If I create a class that has extensives tools on my own time, and then include the class a year later in a contracted project, do I own the class or does the paying party?

Have I sold my soul?

Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 10:36 am
by Luke
I reuse code all the time in all my projects... it better not be illegal... or I'm outta the job.

Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 10:41 am
by tvsketch
I doubt its "illegal". I just want to know if I still own my code.

Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 10:52 am
by Chris Corbyn
Many clients will get you to sign an Inventions Agreement Form. It basically says that anything you write for them belongs to them and you have no rights to re-use the code elsewhere. BUT, those agreements usually have a section where you list up-front what exactly already belongs to you that you plan to use. Those things you list cannot be taken away from you. If they don't ask you to sign one, put down in writing what you will use that already belongs to you and make sure they are clear about it up-front; ask them to sign it.

Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 11:27 am
by alex.barylski
Basically, this is how I see it...when you write code on your own time, like a class, etc and release it as (L)GPL or whatever, that code falls under that license.

If you write code for someone else, you'd better have written permission to release that code as GPL, etc or obviously, if they pay you for it, it's theirs exclusively.

If you ever plan on using open source or existing code in any projects (as a whole, not segments) it would be wise to likely inform your client/employer why you want to use open source and how it will benefit them.

I like to think most companies are cool with you releasing some code as open source, just explain to them why it's a good candidate for open source and that your not releasing their core application functionality as open source. It's the core work most companies are interested in anyways.

Anyways, I would suggest getting "written" permission to use or release any code you write as open source when working for a client. If you write it on your own time, obviously it's yours, but you should still inform your client if you plan on using some code you wrote (even if it's not released under existing open source licenses) in their products, making it clear, it's perpetually free to them, to do whatever they they wish, however it is not theirs exclusively.

It really depends on agreement you and your client strike up...

I recently had an agreement where I developed a minimal CMS and licensed it to them, it was not *sold* to them. They are basically restricted to the same EULA as when using a desktop application, but they paid for the majority of the development. In this way it's sort of analogous to customizing open source software.

You develop a bare bones application. Someone finds it useful and they start using it. A little while later, they want changes, so they hire you to implement those changes. Those changes are optionally refactored into the core application. Yes, they pay for your time and the changes are made available to the general public (or at least your current client base) but that's open source for you. If they want changes to be made exclusively to them, you double your hourly rate ;) Explaining the reason is because they are hindering the open source movement by keeping anything proprietary. When faced with a rate hike like that, I Imagine most businesses would see the usefulness in open source software development.

Cheers :)

Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 12:04 pm
by RobertGonzalez
Everah | Before any opinions are considered, I would suggest that you seek solid legal advice. None of the opinions offered from the DevNet community should be considered legal advice under any circumstance.

What agreement/contract stipulations did you agree to in writing? If it is not specifically mentioned in the agreement then I would guess that what you bring to the table is yours. But I cannot be legally sure of that.

Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 12:44 pm
by feyd
The legality and ownership thereof depend entirely on the contract language and the precedence for such ownership in that jurisdiction. In California for example, programmers maintain their copyright and ownership to code no matter what contract is signed in many cases.