4 ms·

You usually sell exclusive exploitation rights in an employment relationship. That can either happen implicitly (where the rights granted are as minimal as poss

You usually sell exclusive exploitation rights in an employment relationship. That can either happen implicitly (where the rights granted are as minimal as possible to fulfil the reason the contract was concluded) or explicitly (by the way: so-called total buyout of all rights is not easily done). Additionally, software is special cased in German copyright law (§ 69b): the employer automatically gets all exclusive exploitation rights. For patentable software an additional renumeration is mandatory.

pluma 9y ago
> Additionally, software is special cased in German copyright law (§ 69b): the employer automatically gets all exclusive exploitation rights. Keep in mind that's only for regular employees. Freelancers are not considered employees so §69b doesn't apply (despite the part about "service relationships"). If licensing isn't part of the contract (or more likely: if there is no formal contract at all), the freelancer retains all rights and just grants a non-exclusive non-transferable irrevocable usage right. So if you hire a freelancer and want something more than that, make sure to set up an actual contract approved by an actual lawyer. See (German): http://www.it-recht-kanzlei.de/nutzungsrechte-individualsoftware-vereinbarung-freelancer.html http://www.it-recht-kanzlei.de/nutzungsrechte-individualsoft...
- germanier 9y ago
  > Keep in mind that's only for regular employees. Freelancers are not considered employees so §69b doesn't apply (despite the part about "service relationships") Yes, this is important to keep in mind. The "service relationships" part (Dienstverhältnisse) is referencing state employees.
  - pluma 9y ago
    Yeah, I'm just pointing that bit out because Dienstvertrag ("service contract", i.e. charging per hour) is a type of contract you might use to hire a freelancer (the other one is Werkvertrag, "work contract", i.e. charging for a specific work with predefined requirements). As a former freelancer my first read of that line would have been that it also includes (sub-)contractors, which it of course doesn't. I don't know whether most business people are aware of §69b at all but in my experience many people just hire freelancers without a specific copyright arrangement and are then deeply surprised when they find out they don't actually own the project they paid the freelancer to create for them.

pluma 9y ago

> Additionally, software is special cased in German copyright law (§ 69b): the employer automatically gets all exclusive exploitation rights. Keep in mind that's only for regular employees. Freelancers are not considered employees so §69b doesn't apply (despite the part about "service relationships"). If licensing isn't part of the contract (or more likely: if there is no formal contract at all), the freelancer retains all rights and just grants a non-exclusive non-transferable irrevocable usage right. So if you hire a freelancer and want something more than that, make sure to set up an actual contract approved by an actual lawyer. See (German): http://www.it-recht-kanzlei.de/nutzungsrechte-individualsoftware-vereinbarung-freelancer.html http://www.it-recht-kanzlei.de/nutzungsrechte-individualsoft...

germanier 9y ago
> Keep in mind that's only for regular employees. Freelancers are not considered employees so §69b doesn't apply (despite the part about "service relationships") Yes, this is important to keep in mind. The "service relationships" part (Dienstverhältnisse) is referencing state employees.
- pluma 9y ago
  Yeah, I'm just pointing that bit out because Dienstvertrag ("service contract", i.e. charging per hour) is a type of contract you might use to hire a freelancer (the other one is Werkvertrag, "work contract", i.e. charging for a specific work with predefined requirements). As a former freelancer my first read of that line would have been that it also includes (sub-)contractors, which it of course doesn't. I don't know whether most business people are aware of §69b at all but in my experience many people just hire freelancers without a specific copyright arrangement and are then deeply surprised when they find out they don't actually own the project they paid the freelancer to create for them.