Who owns the code / design after a website development project is completed?

Whichever the contract says — and this is exactly why the contract must say. Under the Copyright Act, 2000, work commissioned from an independent contractor does not automatically vest in the client; there needs to be an express written IP-assignment clause for the client to own it. Without such a clause, the developer / designer holds the copyright and the client only has an implied licence to use the deliverable for its intended purpose. Insist on a clear assignment clause in every tech services contract.

How do we handle change requests once the project has started?

With a written change-management clause built into the original contract. The clause should require every change request to be submitted in writing, quoted (in additional time and cost), and formally accepted by both parties in writing before work on the change starts. Without a change clause, scope creep and its unpaid extra hours are the single most common source of tech-project disputes; with one, changes become a manageable side-process rather than a source of resentment.

Online, Digital & Tech Services

Digital and tech-services agreements — website / app development contracts, e-commerce / f-commerce vendor agreements, digital marketing, domain / hosting transfers, software licences, IT service contracts, internet / ISP service contracts, social media management, graphic design, content writing, cybersecurity, data entry / BPO — are the paperwork of Bangladesh's growing digital economy. The core drafting problem in this space is that the deliverable is intangible: 'a website', 'a design', 'a campaign', 'security' — those descriptions are open to interpretation, and disputes usually arise not because someone breached the contract, but because the two sides never had the same picture of what was being built. A good tech agreement therefore invests heavily in scope, acceptance criteria and change-management, not just fees and timelines.

Stamp & registrationMost tech / digital contracts in Bangladesh run on Tk. 300 non-judicial stamp. IP ownership must be spelled out explicitly — the default position under the Copyright Act, 2000 depends on the exact relationship (employee vs contractor), and getting it wrong means the client may not own the code / design they paid for. If the service handles personal data of Bangladeshi users, keep track of the evolving data-protection framework and reflect its requirements in the contract's data-handling and breach-notification clauses.

Contract types in this category

Frequently asked questions

Who owns the code / design after a website development project is completed?: Whichever the contract says — and this is exactly why the contract must say. Under the Copyright Act, 2000, work commissioned from an independent contractor does not automatically vest in the client; there needs to be an express written IP-assignment clause for the client to own it. Without such a clause, the developer / designer holds the copyright and the client only has an implied licence to use the deliverable for its intended purpose. Insist on a clear assignment clause in every tech services contract.
How do we handle change requests once the project has started?: With a written change-management clause built into the original contract. The clause should require every change request to be submitted in writing, quoted (in additional time and cost), and formally accepted by both parties in writing before work on the change starts. Without a change clause, scope creep and its unpaid extra hours are the single most common source of tech-project disputes; with one, changes become a manageable side-process rather than a source of resentment.

Online, Digital & Tech Services

Frequently asked questions

Who owns the code / design after a website development project is completed?: Whichever the contract says — and this is exactly why the contract must say. Under the Copyright Act, 2000, work commissioned from an independent contractor does not automatically vest in the client; there needs to be an express written IP-assignment clause for the client to own it. Without such a clause, the developer / designer holds the copyright and the client only has an implied licence to use the deliverable for its intended purpose. Insist on a clear assignment clause in every tech services contract.
How do we handle change requests once the project has started?: With a written change-management clause built into the original contract. The clause should require every change request to be submitted in writing, quoted (in additional time and cost), and formally accepted by both parties in writing before work on the change starts. Without a change clause, scope creep and its unpaid extra hours are the single most common source of tech-project disputes; with one, changes become a manageable side-process rather than a source of resentment.