What the law says about who owns code
In short
Under US copyright law, the people who write the code own it unless the work is made for hire or the rights are transferred in writing. Paying for the work and holding a copy of it are not the same as owning the copyright.
The Copyright Office's basic guide says copyright initially belongs to the authors who created the work, and that owning a copy of a work does not give the owner the copyright in it. A transfer of the rights generally must be in writing and signed by the owner of the rights, or by someone authorized to sign for them.
Its circular on works made for hire sets out the exception. Work an employee creates within the job belongs to the employer. A commissioned work counts only if it falls into one of nine listed categories, such as a translation or an instructional text, and both parties sign an agreement that says it is made for hire; if any part is missing, it is not a work made for hire.
So for a site or an app built by an outside firm, the paper that matters is the transfer or the license in the contract. This guide is general information, not legal advice, and a lawyer can read your own contract for you.
The accounts are the other half
In short
Rights on paper do little if the code, the hosting and the domain sit in someone else's accounts. Owning them means each account is registered to your business, with your email as the contact and your card on file.
The repository is where the code lives and its history is kept. When it sits in your organization, adding or removing a developer is a setting you control, and nobody has to hand anything over.
The domain and the hosting matter as much. The domain should be registered to your business with your email as the contact, and the hosting billed to your card, so the site keeps running whoever you work with next. Analytics and search console belong in your name for the same reason.
| A site builder | Custom, in the developer's accounts | Custom, in your accounts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who holds the code | The platform's own code; your content lives inside it | The developer | You, in your own repository |
| The domain | Can be yours, even on a builder | Whoever registered it | You, as the registrant |
| If you part ways | Rebuild on another platform | A handover, as far as the contract requires one | Give the next developer access |
Swipe sideways to see every column
What our terms say
In short
Our terms say it in two sentences: you own the code and every account from the start, and the license to the work vests on full payment. Any developer can pick up the work after us.
In practice the repository is created in your organization on the first day, and the hosting, the domain and any software run on your own accounts and your own card, at cost, with no markup.
The one thing a site of ours carries by default is a small Built by link in its footer, which takes $500 off the price; if you would rather not have it, removing it costs the same amount.
What this means for a small business
In short
Before you sign with anyone, ask in writing who will own the code and whose name will be on the repository, the hosting and the domain. If the answer is not you, ask what a handover would cost.
The questions below take five minutes on a first call and save the hardest talk in any working relationship, the one about leaving. If you are in the Los Angeles area and unsure what your current developer holds, bring the logins you have to a first meeting and we will map out with you which accounts are yours.
- Who owns the copyright in the code, and when does it pass to you?
- Whose account holds the repository, and can you add another developer to it?
- Is the domain registered to your business, with your email as the contact?
- Are hosting and software billed to your own card, at cost?
- What does the contract say happens if you part ways halfway through?