Co-Founder IP & Asset Ownership in Ireland
Who owns the code, the brand, the customer list and the credentials — and the assignment that prevents the most expensive question in due diligence.
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Founders almost always assume the company owns what they build. Investors and acquirers almost never assume that. The IP assignment is the cheapest, fastest, most under-rated piece of paper in any Irish startup.
Three quiet signs the ip & assets risk is structural
- 1
The codebase or product was started before the company was incorporated.
- 2
A contractor or freelancer worked on the product without a written assignment.
- 3
Domain names, accounts and credentials are held in personal names.
The conversations that turn this from a risk into a defended position
Pre-existing code, prototypes, designs and documentation explicitly transferred to the company on incorporation. One page, signed once.
Every contractor who has touched the product needs a written assignment. Verbal arrangements do not transfer IP under Irish law.
Domains in the company's name. Accounts under company-controlled email. Credentials in a company password manager. This single change prevents most departure disputes.
From the first hire onward, employment contracts must vest IP in the company. The cost of fixing this later is materially higher than getting it right at offer stage.
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Most disputes begin with assumptions nobody realised they were making.
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Frequently asked questions
Does the company automatically own what its founders build?+
No. Under Irish law, the creator of a copyrighted work is the first owner unless there is a written assignment or a qualifying employment relationship. Founders are usually neither, until the paper is signed.
What about code written before the company existed?+
It belongs to the individual who wrote it until it is assigned. The clean fix is a written assignment from each founder to the company on or shortly after incorporation.
How do investors check IP in due diligence?+
They request the chain of assignments — founder, contractor, employee — and they check that domain names, source-code repositories and credentials are held by the company. Gaps slow the round.