IP rights or Intellectual Property Rights are the rights given to individuals or companies over the creations of their minds. They usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of his/her creation for a certain period of time. It is supposedly one of the most important points to look into when one outsources his or her project to another company.

A business idea on paper is of no use till it sees the light of day. To get your business idea into production mode, you need a team of technical people to help you out.

So, how do you go about it?

You do a simple Google Search and get a list of Software Companies, and after getting quotes from them and talking with respective teams, you finalize the company to whom you will give the project. But, before signing the dotted line, it is important that you ensure that the IP rights of your project belong to you. There should be no ambiguity on this matter.

Why I say this, is because the definition of IP rights in itself leaves space for ambiguity.

There is ample chance for the development team to say that IP rights belong to them because it is their creation. So, it’s better to clear this upfront.

Read: What are Intellectual Property Rights?

Make sure that all IP rights related to your project belong to you and the Software Development company is legally bound to hand over all files (images, documents, codes, etc.) upon completion of the project.

Also, make sure that in the contract there is a point on Intellectual Property Rights which clearly mentions that all files to be handed over to you on project completion and the same will be copyrighted to you so that the development team has no right over the same.

Many Software Development companies misuse this mainly because clients are not aware of their rights most of the times.

As an ethical business, I believe it is our duty to be transparent with our clients.

Our responsibility is to deliver excellent products and solutions to the customer, and once the client is happy and we get paid as per the contract terms, we must hand over all the files (Project Documents, Images, Design files & Codes) to the rightful owner.

I hope this article enlightens you about your rights regarding intellectual property and when you hire the next Software Company for your project, you make the right choice.