How Can I Ensure That A Contract Protects My Intellectual Property Rights?

Any consultant who is in the business of writing software for their clients needs to spell out their ownership rights in a contract, which encompasses intellectual property law.  This legal document should describe the obligations of both parties entering into the contract, outline liabilities that may be incurred, and define the details of the deliverables.  These deliverables should be defined in terms of both functionality and in actually physical use of the software application.

It’s best to sell the client a non-exclusive license to use the software, rather than selling the client the software itself.  This will leave you free to sell copies to other customers.  If the client wants to have exclusive rights regarding selling your program to competitors in their industry, maybe you can negotiate that the contract stipulate that this condition applies for only a short period of time.

A licensed attorney who specializes in intellectual property, trademark and copyright law can best advise you and ensure that your contract contains all the necessary protections.