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I have a public facing web application that a company have asked me to rebrand to them (host on their site, change name and logo to them) and also add some new features. The new features are a good idea that I have thought about adding in the past and so will roll them into my standard app. However, the new features were not on my priority list for the product. Is it okay to charge the customer for this development work but for me to maintain 100% ownership and IPR in the product and code? How is it best to pitch it to them? Is this a standard practice? Does it have a name?

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2 Answers

My company does this. In our contract, we state very clearly that we maintain all ownership in the product, including any feedback provided by them about the product. I would definitely charge the customer for any development work requested by them, and you could consider in your pricing that you will be retaining ownership. So yes, this is a standard practice.

The term "white label" is sometimes used for this.

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Sure. it is good for both - they get it immediately, and they do NOT get problems or pay for further development / testing / debugging long term,. And you can give them a sgnificant rebate (50%?) and name them as contributors.

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Many thanks. Re "name them as contributers"? Do you mean add something to my product documentation to say they contributed by paying for the development of the new features? By rebate are you referring to letting them use the service at a reduced price to the amount I would charge any other company that wanted to white label it in this way? – user6894 Jan 28 '11 at 9:57
I meant adding them as contributor in the documentation (feature .... cosponsored by) and giving them a rebate on development costs in exchagne for the rights. Basically win win. Cheaper than a full custom job, and no further maintenance costs (i.e. you fix bugs in your regular development cycle). – NetTecture Jan 28 '11 at 11:14
Many customers would not want to be named as contributors as they don't necessarily want their brand associated with your company. – user6603 Mar 29 '11 at 13:11

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