

Ask HN: Freelancers, how do you handle IP ownership of your work? - codegeek

So you are working for a client and wrote a bunch of code. Most likely, some of that code could be re-used for another project (E.g. Users, Sessions). How do you handle this with multiple clients ? Is there a way to do standard IP contract for freelancers ? How do you assure the client that even if you retain IP for certain modules&#x2F;plugins, they are safe.
======
ProblemFactory
All of my contracts include a full copyright transfer to the client upon full
payment. They paid for it after all, and not owning the copyright would put
the client in a difficult position if they ever try to raise funding or sell
the company.

However, it is common to use open-source libraries when building the project.
Some of these libraries are third-party, and some of them may have been
written by me.

For simple and quick re-usable components, I tend to rewrite them for each
project. For more complex debugging & development helper tools, I write and
open-source them in my own time, and include in the project based on the open-
source license. If the client is paying for my time, they are not included in
billable hours, and if they are paying for results delivered, finding a
library to do the job is a great way to achieve these results.

~~~
X4
How much extra % of the original price do you ask for selling the full IP
rights?

~~~
ProblemFactory
No extra, I only offer one rate that includes full source code and copyright
transfer.

Some clients have been surprised by developers asking a lot of money for
copyright once they want to update the app, sell licenses or raise funding -
for those, including copyright transfer is a selling point for hiring me. If
client's don't ask for IP rights, I bring it up myself and explain why they
will need it.

I don't think having separate rates for full source code & copyright makes
sense. Most of the code is _not_ re-usable between projects, and I don't get
any value from keeping it to myself. The only use of charging extra would be
if I could then offer cheaper rates to people who don't want IP rights, and
raise the rates for those who do: but I'm still doing just as much work for
the first group.

