If i hire a programmer to make a custom program will i own it?
I know under patent law if the person is an employee of mine then i will own the intellectual property but I’m concerned that since I’m just hiring a freelancer this claim will be harder to fill. Also if I cut costs and hire the freelance programmer in India will that make ownership of the intellectual property less likely?
Make him sign an agreement before you hire a freelancer, you can find many cheap freelancers at websites like ijug.net , getafreelnacer.com , eufrelance.com ,etc.
I guess you have to put that in the contract that they have to sign.
But why do you need to hire a programmer?
phenomenally expensive and incredibly difficult to test what do you want it for
Recommend you have a written agreement that specifies ownership of the source code. Your best bet is to consult with an intellectual property lawyer, but if you choose to do things yourself, there are many companies on the Internet that will sell you an agreement template.
Ownership blurs when companies bring in outside specialists who function as quasi-employees–a situation that’s especially common in software development. Many companies have tried to write so-called "work for hire" contracts that transfer copyright ownership, but these contracts have a tendency to fall apart in court (at least four different federal courts have wrestled with work-for-hire cases, significantly adding to the confusion). The Supreme Court issued a definitive formula that simply eliminates the whole notion of de facto employees. According to the Court, companies own only the work of people who are genuine employees; everything else is up for grabs.
The only prudent course of action would be to consult with an attorney who specializes in this sort of thing. As with many do-it-yourself legal projects, you most likely will not be able to defend the agreement in court.
Just google
intellectual property subcontractor
and you get lots of examples for a contract with the clauses u need. A subcontractor gets, at a minimum, to show examples of anything he produces for you. Terms of payments, and what rights you are claiming are part of a contract.