Who owns the code when a studio builds my automation?

It should be written in your contract before work starts. Usually you own what is built specifically for you, and the studio keeps the right to reuse general components it brought to the project.

Ask for three things in writing:

• who owns the custom code
• whether reusable parts are licensed to you, and on what terms
• who holds the accounts for hosting, the domain and the tools involved

Accounts matter as much as code. If a studio holds your domain or database in its own name, leaving is hard. If a studio won’t put ownership in writing, treat that as an answer in itself.

Also ask what you receive at handover: access to the code repository, a short guide to how the system works, and a list of the monthly tool costs you will pay.

At Varadin, ownership and licensing are set out in the written scope before any build starts, so there are no surprises later.