If clients or customers have any problems they will attribute it to you and the general competency of your company, not to your web developer. The goal is to own as much as possible. On the other hand, the web developer may incorporate certain proprietary technologies into your website that the developer has no intention of giving away. The Work for Hire Doctrine You may contract for the development of software for your company, but without specific language in the agreement designating your company as the owner of the finished software, the third-party developer may be the owner. When a work qualifies as a work made for hire, the employer or commissioning party is considered to be the author.
Employees typically sign agreements upon their hiring making that very clear.
However, the second exception can be the source of confusion, and in the eBusiness context where intellectual property may be the biggest asset a company has, this can be like throwing money out the window. All rights reserved. Last updated on August 25, 2000.