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Employment (Stripe Atlas Guide)

Stripe Atlas with Orrick · Stripe Atlas Free Intermediate

Atlas built this guide with Orrick, and its blunt advice is to get signed IP assignments from everyone who touches the company, including a freelancer brought in for a single day. It explains the real risk: a contractor later claiming you infringe their IP and forcing you to pay or shut down. Read the IP and contractor sections closely.

  • Get an IP assignment from everyone, even one-day freelancers.
  • An unassigned contributor can later claim infringement against you.
  • Your own pre-incorporation work also needs assigning to the company.
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The question it answers

  1. How do I make sure I actually own the code my freelancer writes?

Read with it

  1. This lays out the one fact most first-time founders get wrong: under Indian copyright law your freelancer owns the code they... iPleaders (blog.ipleaders.in) Article · ~20 min read Freelancer Agreement in India: IP, Ownership and the Clauses That Actually Bind iPleaders
  2. This is the plain-English India explainer that maps exactly to your problem: it walks through Section 17(c) (employees vest in... Khurana & Khurana Article · 10 min read Copyright Ownership in Employment and Freelance Contracts: Key Legal Insights Khurana & Khurana, Advocates and IP Attorneys
  3. Explains that without a written assignment, the agency, not you, may own the code you paid for. It covers present tense... Horizon Labs Article Code Ownership and IP Assignment for Contractors: 2026 Guide Horizon Labs
  4. A lawyer's note on the exact wording that actually transfers code ownership in a development agreement. It is short and... Willcox Savage Article Use the Magic Words: Ownership of Code Developed under a Software Development Agreement Joseph B. Allen
  5. Cooley is the law firm behind a huge share of venture-backed startups, and this short piece tells you exactly why your company... Cooley GO Article What You Need in Your Contractor Agreements Cooley LLP
  6. A plain founder-level explainer from a top startup law firm on why the person who writes the code owns it by default, and what... WilmerHale Launch Article Who Owns Your IP WilmerHale
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