Don't take the clause out. If you have a client that insists on code ownership simply give them a new quote for the project. This new quote should be significan

Don't take the clause out. If you have a client that insists on code ownership simply give them a new quote for the project. This new quote should be significantly more since you won't be allowed to reuse any of your existing code to build their project. You'll want to charge a higher rate since you also won't be gaining new code to use in future projects. I've had to do this a few times. In one case the client went elsewhere, in a couple of cases the client paid the higher price because they felt that the work would be a profit center for them in the future if they owned it and could resell it, but in most cases clients want cheap and they will be happy to pay for a license. I would also make sure your contract has something specific in it about non transference of your license. It should be clear that if they sell their company or something like that the new owner can continue with the existing licensing terms, but they do not have the right to resell your code to any third party outside of that type of an event. It will almost certainly be unnecessary, but there are enough unscrupulous people out there that it's better to be safe.