Who actually owns the code behind your website or app?
This is a question worth asking before you sign a contract, not after. In many IT projects, the client pays for the build but never receives full rights to the source code, which in practice means being locked into a single vendor. In this article we explain what to check to keep your company fully independent.
What to check in your contract
- Transfer of copyright to the code, not just a license to use it
- Access to the repository and the full history of changes, not just a final output file
- Technical documentation that lets another team take over the project without reverse-engineering the code from scratch
- No dependency on the vendor’s closed, proprietary tools that can’t be moved to a different environment
What’s the difference between a license and a copyright transfer?
A license gives you the right to use the software under certain conditions, but the copyright still belongs to the vendor. A transfer of copyright means the code genuinely becomes your property, you can modify it, move it to a different provider, and keep developing it without restrictions. It’s a fundamental difference that’s easy to miss in a vaguely worded contract.
Why it matters for your company’s independence
Full code ownership means you can switch vendors, grow an in-house team, or bring in someone else to keep building, at any point, without starting over. It’s a business safeguard, not just a legal formality, in practice it protects you from a situation where a single vendor has full control over a system your company depends on.
How we handle this
At Creatives Studio, every project ends with the full transfer of rights and access to the code. No exceptions, and no extra fee for letting you take the project elsewhere. We believe the relationship with a client should be built on the quality of the work, not on technological lock-in.
Let’s talk about your project on clear terms.