Developing an AI Product with an External CTO: Who Owns the Technology?
Key takeaways Default rule: In the UK, EU and US, a person who is not an employee generally owns the copyright in the code and other materials they create, even if the company has paid for the work or issued them shares. Written assignment: Ownership passes to the company only through a written, signed assignment. In the US, a “work
AI Development Agreements: Key Issues When Commissioning or Co-Developing an AI Product
Key takeaways Ownership: Paying a developer does not transfer ownership. The agreement needs to identify each AI component (code, models, weights, data, prompts) and say who owns it and what licences apply. Data and third-party models: Many disputes turn on data and on third-party models rather than code: who may use the customer’s data to train models, and what the
Good Leaver or Bad Leaver: What Happens to a Founder’s Shares When They Leave?
Key takeaways Why they matter: Leaver provisions stop a departing founder or employee from keeping equity that was meant to reward future work. Investors will almost always expect them. Definitions drive value: “Good” and “bad” leaver are not legal terms. The definitions, any intermediate category and the vesting schedule decide how much a leaver keeps and what they are paid.