Employer / Employee / Client question

question about application ownership

[deRokerij]

I've worked for my current employer for about 13 years, and part of my job has been web and application development. For the last 3 years, I've been working continually on an ever growing client application (a relatively complex financial web site), as well as sites for other clients.

The client has paid my employer for all invoices I've sent them for work.

I've been growing steadily more disgruntled at my job, and things are at a head now that they screwed up my taxes by $3,000(!). This client has said that if I ever want to leave my employer, they would take me on as their sole full-time developer. Right now, they're hinting at August is when they could take me on and give me a raise.

This client also has purchased a server from us (and paid for it), that we host at our location. If I'm confident that my (hopefully former) company will survive after I leave, I'm fine leaving the server there and just developing remotely.

So, the question is - who owns the application that I've written over the years? The client or my employer? No contracts were over signed between my company and the client - it's all been "write this" or "add this" and bill us.

Should it get ugly, how can I get out of my current job and make sure the client owns the code?

How much do I have to rewrite on my own time if I want my potential new employer to be free and clear of my hopefully former employer?

[monkeythumpa]

Most companies have you sign a contract that the "fruits of your labor" are theirs and you give up any rights to them once you leave. Even without that, as an employee, your work is their work. If you were an independant contractor, without a contract that states differently, your work is your work. So you would technically have to start over.

[deRokerij]

Then how much starting over is considered starting over? There are only so many ways you can write queries and code so that the application doesn't break.

[Mardi_Gras]

>So, the question is - who owns the application that I've written over the years?

You won't find the answer to that question here. If it is that important, your future employer needs to spend some dollars on legal advice. Sounds like they should do that whether or not you leave. For example, what if your current employer goes bankrupt? Will the client have to try to buy the code from the court, or from a another purchaser?

The client needs to get this cleared up.

[BigDave]

The client should try and buy the rights to the source code and the rights to make changes before they hire you.

Otherwise, you will have to rewrite everything. It can be similar, since you are the same person, but you have to rewrite every line of code without the old code sitting around.

There are actually some advantages to doing a full rewrite. There are obviously certain things that you would love to be able to change. The big disadvantage is time.