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Overseas outsourcing and intellectual property

2 points by andrewtbham ↗ HN
how do you cover your liability if you use overseas sub-contractors with regard to non-competes, intellectual property, ndas etc. especially if they are not in the US. How can you enforce them? I am going to talk with a lawyer, but wondered if anyone had any advice.

4 comments

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paulsingh
In general, stick to a service like odesk or elance -- they both have built-in NDA/IP stuff that assigns everything to you.
sfgary1
You cannot,IMO. Even if you outsource to a sub-contractor in a country with a strong IP regime it is probably not worth your time,money and effort to pursue infringement. The best way to protect your IP with sub-contractors is to not give them access to your IP.
andrewtbham
thanks for the feedback... are you suggesting i give them access to some source code but not the complete code? or just don't use people overseas at all.
[dead] RACNicole
Hi andrewtbham,

It is best to reserve this type of project to native developers only -- even if you do outsource it online. You simply cannot reinforce your country's laws in an area that doesn't or refuses to recognize them.