When outsourcing a website, an FDI company usually receives ‘a working website’ without knowing what it actually owns: the interface, the source code, the content, or merely a right to run on the agency’s platform. When maintenance ends or relations sour, the agency can lock admin access and refuse the source code — and the company learns the website it paid for is not entirely its own.
Three asset layers in an outsourced website
- Interface and graphics — original layout and graphic elements are applied-art or written works under Article 14 of the IP Law; economic rights follow the contract designation under Article 39.
- Source code — Article 22: computer programs are protected as literary works; code written specifically for the project differs from the agency’s pre-existing platform and libraries, which are only licensed.
- Website content — articles and product photos supplied by the company remain the company’s; content the agency writes or buys (stock photos, fonts) follows each component’s licence.
- Domain and data are not copyright but decide control — a domain registered in the agency’s name and hosting on the agency’s account are control risks independent of copyright, and they usually bite faster.
Clauses a website handover needs
- Register the domain, hosting and certificates under the company’s own legal name and email from day one; the agency gets time-limited technical access only.
- Contract for delivery of all custom source code, top-level admin accounts and deployment documentation at acceptance; delineate what platform parts stay the agency’s.
- Agree the right to modify the site and hire another maintainer after the contract ends, plus 30-60 days of transition support.
A website is a long-term owned sales channel, not a monthly rental. FDI companies should separate three things at signing: copyright in the interface and custom code, licences for third-party components, and control over domain and data. Fix those, and changing agencies becomes a mere technical procedure.
Frequently asked questions
We outsourced our website — who owns the interface and code?
Under Article 39 of the IP Law, economic rights belong to whoever the contract designates; the agency’s pre-existing platform is usually licensed, not assigned.
After maintenance ends, can we edit the site ourselves?
Yes if the contract grants modification rights and delivery of custom code plus admin accounts; without them, you can be locked out of your own website.
What is the risk if the design firm keeps the copyright?
Loss of control: no content edits, no switching providers, and extra fees for every change — even after paying the full design price.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council