Q: Freelance Drupal Developer Questions
Hi Everyone, I'm new and would appreciate a little light shone on a few things for me...
I am an Australian budding feelance web designer and couldn't believe my luck when I stumbled across Drupal! I'm not much of a programmer you see so to be able to create dynamic content this easily is a dream come true. However... After reading the legal FAQ's I have a few concerns.
My plan is to create Drupal sites for clients with my own custom theme design (which they will pay me to do), then I will give them certain permissions so they can change/update the areas they want and I will show them how to do it. Now I think so far this is all legal, and I do not have to give the site code to anyone else. I noticed other people with this kind of setup are hosting the sites themselves though, which is something I do not have the know-how to do. Therefor I would be uploading the site to an external paid hosting company. Does this mean this company can use and distribute my source code (my main concern is my custom theme) to whomever they wish? Basically I do not want anyone to be able to use the custom theme a client has paid me for, I fear mainly my clients reaction if they find out! Also I know the value of giving back to the Drupal community and in the future intend to create custom themes soley for the purpose of contributing them to Drupal theme garden as my way of saying thanks to such a wonderful open-source program!
Thanks for listening, sorry this is such a novel!
Check with the host
Disclaimer: IANAL, and my knowledge is based mostly on US law. There may be caveats in Australian law I don't know about, so take this with the appropriate quantity of sodium chloride.
However, my initial reaction is to say no, that's not the case. The web host is offering you a storage service, much the same as a public storage company would be offering you a rental closet. The host does not have a right to either the code you produce or the data you store there. Check the fine print with your host, but any host that does claim they have a right to any code (GPL or otherwise) that you upload is a host you should not be doing business with, and I've never heard of a host claiming that it has a claim on code you simply store there. The host is not a recipient of distribution of the code, merely a storage facility for it.
In addition, even though the PHP code and template files in your theme must be under the GPL when you distribute them to your client that does not apply to any graphics or CSS that you write yourself (as opposed to modifying an existing GPL image or CSS file). The GPL also does not extend to the look and feel of the site itself; even if the entire code base is GPLed, the aggregate visual L&F of the site is a separate copyright (usually by a designer and handed over to the client) and is not covered by the GPL.
If you're serious about web design it would behoove you to have the above checked by a lawyer in your area, specifically one familiar with copyright and open source law in Australia. It's money well spent to be certain. You can check with the Free Software Foundation to see if there are any Free Software-friendly lawyers in your area they can recommend.
Welcome to Drupal!
Thanks
Thanks for your advice, much appreciated. I have been intending to see a lawyer about drawing up contracts and such so I will do as you suggest and ask them about the local law here in OZ! Cheers