Question about a freelance contract that backfired on me last week

I signed a contract with a client for a website build, $2,500 total, and they snuck in a clause that said all source code and assets become their property upon payment. I thought that was normal but when they asked for the raw files after the first milestone, I realized I gave up rights to my own reusable components. I had to spend 4 hours renegotiating and adding a license section that kept my custom libraries. The client got super defensive and said I was being unprofessional. Has anyone else had a client try to take your behind-the-scenes tools in a contract?

3 comments

3 Comments

david_walker974d ago

Jumped into a mess like this myself last year with a local restaurant website. They wanted the PSDs and all my custom WordPress snippets after the first payment. I had this library of button styles I built over years and they tried to claim it was part of their project. Took me a good 3 phone calls to explain that my reusable code stays mine, same way a plumber doesn't give you their wrench after unclogging a sink. The worst part was the client saying I was "hiding things" and that other developers never had a problem with it. Your mileage may vary but I've learned to put a reusable components clause in every single contract now, right up front.

perry.jesse4d ago

And that's exactly the thing, clients don't realize our snippets and libraries are our years of work. They see a button on their site and think it's just theirs now, but it's like asking a carpenter for the saw they used. The reusable clause in the contract is the only way to stop that argument before it starts.

johnson.eva4d ago

I read somewhere that a lot of freelancers don't even think about code ownership until it's too late. Your example about the plumber's wrench is spot on, people don't realize their tools and reusable stuff are separate from the project.