iPleaders (blog.ipleaders.in)

Why we picked it This lays out the one fact most first-time founders get wrong: under Indian copyright law your freelancer owns the code they write unless they assign it to you in writing, so no clause means no ownership. It walks through the exact assignment language you need and a smart safeguard of tying the transfer to full payment. It is written for the Indian legal context, not lifted from a US template, which is why it fits a founder here better than the generic explainers.

Freelancer Agreement in India: IP, Ownership and the Clauses That Actually Bind

From iPleaders (blog.ipleaders.in) by iPleaders ~20 min read

• By default in India the freelancer, as author, owns the copyright in the code; without a signed written assignment you get only a limited licence, not ownership.
• The contract needs an explicit IP assignment (or work-for-hire) clause; a handshake or an invoice does not transfer ownership.
• Tying the IP transfer to full payment protects both sides and gives you a clean, enforceable chain of ownership.