Can I resell something I paid to have made?

Question by Earthone: Can I resell something I paid to have made?
If I paid a programmer to made a program for me whether it is a php script or c++ program can I legally sell multiple copies of it?

Best answer:

Answer by Matt B
It depends what copyright the author of the program is holding and how your contract was set up with the programmer.

If there was no contract, the programmer retains copyright of his work, and the money you paid him allows you to use his work.

If you want to sell his work or distribute it, you would have to have some kind of agreement with the programmer that allows you to do so.

Example:
A company hires a temporary programmer to make a tool that they use for a specific purpose. They pay him an hourly rate. The program is finished, the programmer is long gone, and now the company wants to sell exactly that tool to other customers. It depends on the legal agreement between the programmer and the company whether this is legal or not.

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