Can I release something I paid for, but didn't write?
 

I paid a programmer almost a $1000 to develop a custom member portfolio system that is integrated with vB. Unfortunately, he took my money, delivered a product that is unfinished with a few bugs, and refuses to offer any further support or assistance in getting it finished and working properly.

I've posted about this in a few other places in these forums and an admin recently suggested that I try releasing it as a beta in the hopes that some people might get involved and help to fix the bugs and turn it into a valuable product for other members.

I have no problems making it available for free, and it is working pretty well with a just few small glitches that bother me enough that I haven't made it available to my members yet. But is it really okay for me to release this if I can't provide any support for it? I own the code and have the right to do whatever I want with it and the programmer confirmed this in writing stating "This is a private project, and whatever i make will be yours."

Any advice would be much appreciated. If anybody is interested you can see a demo of the project at the url below. It is set up for photographers, but I think it could be useful for other things as well. You can add more categories and sub-categories, and can customize the nearest major cities, provinces/states, etc.

http://www.canphoto.net/forums/portfolio_directory.php

Cheers,

Andrew

Are there any signed contracts saying otherwise? If not, it's yours to do with as you please.

We never signed anything, but I specifically asked him via email "what ownership rights I will have to the final application?" He replied in writing that "This is a private project, and whatever i make will be yours."

I'm not too concerned about this, I'm more concerned about releasing a product that I can't personally support. I just didn't know if that was cool.

I was also wondering if I can realistically expect some coders to get involved in this project and help fix the bugs and possibly even improve upon the basic package.

Cheers,

Andrew

1. release it as beta just stating as you have, that you paid for it but it is incomplete.
2. if you paid for it, you own it and can do what you want... including selling licenses or releasing it for free.

Well dude the´program looks awsome if your gonna put it up for download later on im the first one there I think the program looks good so far

yea i say release as well. maybe you can get help in finishing it for free. then youll get what you paid for.

Thanks for the replies. I'll get the files and some screen shots ready and release it soon.

Cheers.

there are a few that relate to this kind of plugin allready ab=nd would also benefit like a buy and sell classified ADs plugin.

Please post the known Bugs. :alien: