Source code ownership (IP assignment)

Who legally owns the code you paid for. In Poland, a contractor’s code becomes yours only through a written transfer of rights.

Under the Polish Copyright Act, economic rights to a computer program written by an employee in the course of their duties belong to the employer (Article 74). A contractor on a B2B or specific-work contract keeps them unless the contract transfers them in writing (Article 53) for the listed fields of exploitation (Article 41). Paying the invoice alone does not move ownership, which comes up in due diligence and when a vendor relationship ends badly.

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Related terms

Source code escrow: The vendor deposits source code with a neutral third party, released to the customer if the vendor goes under or stops support.
B2B contract (Poland): How many Polish developers work: as their own registered business, invoicing the client monthly instead of being employed.
Technical due diligence: A review of a company’s software, team and processes before an investment or acquisition, to price the technical risk.

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