The issue of intellectual property ownership in website development is very unclear. Personally, I believe that the client should own the content of the website and the XHTML/CSS template, but should not own the tools and applications used to run the website, i.e. CMS, e-commerce system, blog system, unless those components have been designed specifically for the client and are specified to be their property by contract.
The anxiety related to the ownership of websites is mainly caused by the fear of being locked in to a given provider's service. That can be easily solved by providing a mechanism for exporting the website content and the XHTML/CSS template. For instance, if you run an e-commerce site with Provider A and decide to move to Provider B, then A should give you the tools necessary to quickly export all your website content from the CMS and all product catalog/orders data from your e-commerce system. Knowing that you can leave at any time makes you more comfortable in staying.
The problem is that a move between providers is not going to be easy, because there are no standards for storing and exchanging website data of various kinds. What I mean by that is that your new provider will have to spend time and your money on importing the content and e-commerce data that you've provided to him (it will not be as easy as a click of a button).
Why is it not possible for the client to own the final working product?
The answer is both legal and financial. Firstly, many of the tools used to host a website are open source and are licensed in a way that does not allow for commercial sale (i.e. GPL).
Secondly, if each tool required to host a website (e-commerce platform, blog system etc.) was proprietary and developed specifically for the client, than the cost of developing and hosting the website would exceed most client's budget. It is necessary to use existing software components in developing and hosting websites, in order to minimize the cost to the end customer. However, those components in many cases cannot be re-sold to the customer, because of licensing issues.
newline is planning to add content and theme export capabilities to the WebAssemblyLine service.
What do you think about all this?
3 comments so far
05 Mar 2006, Oto said:
Just to add my few bits to this problem…
Today even the simplest Websites are calling for fairly advanced functionality that needs to be accomplished by specific software setup on the server where the site is hosted. This just further complicates the matter of “owning” and “choosing” a hosting provider.
Since the specific functionality and features of the Website (or more specific the system that enables the specific functionality) requires advanced or special server setup, Web server modules, etc. it becomes less feasible to place the Website at a discount hosting provider that does not allow for flexibility (there are reasons for that as well).
In other words, moving an established Website with specific functionality becomes extremely complex.
22 Dec 2006, kiaso said:
I agree to that the client should be the owner of the content of the website as he pays for I it and should be credited for that. The client is paying the hosting company for the service he is using and has every right to own the content.
Regarding the export or moving the site from one host to another, we really don’t need to depend on the existing host. I had to face a similiar situation which was perfectly handled by my new hosting company. I just need to give my account details before the DNS change activation. I got everything perfectly done with downtime of 99%.
27 Dec 2008, Богдан said:
Вопрос к автору , а вот у вас время у каждой статьи и в комментариях пишется… Это какое? Московское? Заранее благодарю за ответ.
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