Software rights and licence terms
Software IP and open-source licence review
Before you sign a customer contract or hand over a product, check which rights your company has and what it can promise.
I review developer agreements and the terms for third-party code, including open-source components. You receive clear findings: what the documents confirm, what is missing and which clauses to change.
The starting point
When a review helps
A customer wants assurances
Who holds the rights in the code, what third-party components it contains and whether you can transfer full ownership.
Several people built the product
Team members and external developers wrote the code, and the documents do not make your company’s rights clear.
A customer pays for a new feature
It wants all the rights, while you need to keep the platform and reusable code for other projects.
Your team uses third-party code or AI
You need to compare component and AI-tool terms with the commitments you make to a customer.
Rights map
Four questions about one product
We first agree the version and the transaction, then match each part of the code to the documents and licences that cover it.
Employees and contractors
Whether the company owns what they wrote or only has permission to use it.
Employment terms · signed assignments
Platform and reusable code
What you need to keep, including improvements made during the project.
Component list · contract definitions
Open source and third-party code
Which licence conditions apply to your use and delivery of the product.
Licences · versions · copyright notices
AI-assisted code
What your AI service terms say about output rights and protection against IP claims.
Account holder · plan · version in force at the time
What can you promise a customer?
Which rights you grant, how the customer may use the product and which claims you agree to take responsibility for.
Open-source code can be used and changed on its licence terms. I check which notices to keep and whether, given how you supply the product, you must provide source code: the program text that developers read and edit.
The result
What the review gives you
| Issue | Evidence to review | Proposed next step |
|---|---|---|
| The documents do not show which rights the company received from a developer | The agreement and signed transfers of rights | Confirm the basis for using the code and prepare the missing documents. |
| A modified AGPLv3 library runs in your hosted service | The licence text and a record of the changes | If section 13 applies, offer network users the Corresponding Source of the modified version. |
| The contract promises all rights, but the product includes third-party code | The product inventory, licences and contract wording | Separate your work from third-party components and narrow the promise to the customer. |
A short decision summary
What needs to be resolved before signing or handover.
Findings with sources
What the documents establish, what needs confirmation and why it matters.
Practical next steps
Documents to prepare, questions for your team and licence conditions to meet.
Proposed contract edits
How to describe the rights in the product and your commitments to the customer.
What we work with
Materials we will need
Agreements
With developers and customers, plus signed transfers of rights.
Product inventory
Components, versions, licences and the copyright notices you already ship.
AI tools
Services, plans and the terms under which your team used them.
How does the product reach customers?
- Online service
- Installed copy
- Source code handed over
Your technical lead confirms the inventory and the delivery model. Licence conditions often depend on it, and a product can combine these models.
Boundaries of the work
This is a legal review of agreed materials. A full repository scan or security audit is outside the scope. The findings distinguish confirmed points from assumptions and open questions. They do not certify that the product infringes no third-party rights or guarantee that no claim will arise.
Three steps
How we start
Describe the product
What it does, who developed it, the issue to resolve and your deadline.
Define the scope
The version, documents, relevant countries and questions for review.
Agree the work
Deliverables, timing and fee, confirmed in advance.
Next step
Discuss your product
A few lines about the issue and your timing are enough.
hello@ilyashilov.com
For help with a whole agreement, including payment, timing and liability, see international contracts and negotiations.