18 Feb FAQ – What to do if you end up in a serious dispute with a website developer
If you end up in a serious dispute with a website developer – you need to act fast.
Keep records
Firstly, preserve any evidence by way of screenshots. Save copies of any documents shared with you through one-drive/google-drive etc. Save as much as you can and if you can’t save it, take screenshots.
Serious dispute with a website developer? You must act quickly to limit the damage.
Revoke access to your programs and business documents
You may also then consider whether it’s necessary to lock those people out of various programs or shared documents which you have given them access to. Change all passwords shared with them. Lock them out of all social media accounts which they may have had access to, project management tools etc. (if you can).
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Seek legal advice
Speak to someone fast about what you need to do to be able to transfer the IP. If you have another website developer or website hosting business, you may want to ask them what they need to transfer over urgently.
A lot will depend on what has happened with ownership etc. but you must act swiftly and properly.
Consult a lawyer who is an expert in this area of law. He can help you quickly to determine the best course of action legally. Also, consult an IT or digital marketing expert to help you obtain anything you need before they get wind that you’re going to leave. In fact, a lot of them simply lock everything down as soon as they suspect or you put them on notice of it.
This industry is unfortunately rife with people who hold clients “over a barrel” holding assets to ransom.
Sometimes it’s a misunderstanding but more often than not, it’s a result of poor communication and asymmetry of technical information and one-sided “take it or leave it” agreements which are heavily in favour of the provider of services – which most businesses don’t take the time to go through and amend in their favour.
You need someone to look at the terms of the agreement very quickly to work out what your legal options might be.
Final thoughts
You really have to be on the front-foot with this and treat time as being of the essence. Unfortunately, the legal process in Australia is often not fast enough to resolve disputes of this nature, which vitally need swift resolution so that a business can move on quickly to a new developer and not be hindered by IP being held-up by the old one.
It’s never a nice situation to be in. Knowing how to deal with it if the need ever did arise will enable you to limit the resulting fall out.
All too often, a business will become embroiled in a dispute with a developer who has been paid all this money, holds all the IP to ransom and the business has to start over with a new developer and has to consider whether it’s worth pursuing the old developer to try and recoup the monies that they have paid, when it’s sure that they will fight tooth-and-nail to keep a hold of all monies paid.
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Contact us today if you require any assistance with resolving a dispute.
(c) Progressive Legal Pty Ltd – All legal rights reserved (2020)
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Ian Aldridge is the Founder and Principal Lawyer Director at Progressive Legal. He has over 15 years experience in advising businesses in Australia and the UK. After practising in commercial litigation for 12 years in major Australian and International Law Firms, he decided to set up a NewLaw law firm in Australia and assist growing Australian businesses. Since then, he has advised over 2,500 small businesses over the past 6 years alone in relation to Intellectual Property Law, Commercial, Dispute Resolution, Workplace and Privacy Law. He has strived to build a law firm that takes a different approach to providing legal services. A truly client-focused law firm, Ian has built Progressive Legal that strives to deliver on predictable costs, excellent communication and care for his clients. As a legal pioneer, Ian has truly changed the way legal services are being provided in Australia, by building Legal Shield™, a legal subscription to obtain tailored legal documents and advice in a front-loaded retainer package, a world-first. He has a double degree in Law (Hons) and Economics (with a marketing major). He was admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW in 2005.
