The key: the contract
So, if you are a company contracting a software development company to build something for you, and they own whatever they make, you may not be happy with that. You may want transference of copyright so that you can completely own the app, site, server, or whatever it is. In that case, the key to this problem lies in the contract.
In every software development project, it is paramount that an adequate and appropriate contract is drawn and agreed upon before any development work begins. In fact, even before any planning or design work begins.
Having an appropriate contract that details exactly how copyright will work and be transferred is the best way to avoid any potential problems down the line. Making sure you are clear in exactly how you want things to work from the beginning means that everyone will be on the same page throughout the project and beyond.
Intellectual property is a robust legal entity and it is important that if you want ownership of someone’s IP, you go about it in the right way. Otherwise, you could end up in a sticky legal situation.
If you want to own the software developed for your company, write an IP transference clause into your contract. Outline how copyright will be transferred explicitly and set rules for this process. Have this contract signed and documented, and move happily on to the rest of your project. Then, you won’t need to worry about IP or copyright problems ever again!