Generally, an employer owns all rights in software code created by its employee in the scope of their employment. As outlined in the last edition of this series, this general rule typically applies to independent contractors so long as the term is included in a written contract. Even where an employee uses generative artificial intelligence (“GenAI”) to either generate an entire set of code or review their code for errors, the employer typically maintains ownership of the code. This edition evaluates the manners in which employers can protect the code they own.
