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We just completed developing a web app for a client. And like I usually do, I added developed by "My Company" at the footer at a very small insignificant size.

I sent the client an End user license stating some of the following in summary

you can't resell, redistribute, etc without our notice
...
you can't remove the attribution or design credits

the client got back to me and complained, telling me now that he was also developing for someone, and that 'I can't add my attribution' without his/her consent, but?

Although I sign a NDA within summary states that I cannot disclose the software to anyone else.

There was no agreement before the project that am not to add design credits or attribution.

I know every software I install have that, and so is every products from companies, mostly technological products.

How does this work (adding design credits)?

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    You nearly never see this on web sites for example (sometimes in the source if you care to look). "Every software I install...", yes, but mostly with the company that sells the product, rarely it lists any contractors. I think if not explicitly agreed in the contract it's up to the customer what he accepts.
    – thorsten müller
    Commented Oct 23, 2013 at 10:21
  • @thorstenmüller what about the part that he has to resel, redistribute etc without my knowledge?
    – Smith
    Commented Oct 23, 2013 at 10:25
  • that simply means that he can't do those things. If he does you can sue him I guess. If he now tells you that he is working for somebody else this seems a bit of a problem obviously. (That's still independent from the question who is credited visually at any place within the software)
    – thorsten müller
    Commented Oct 23, 2013 at 10:34

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Generally, this is something you'd want to discuss before signing the actual contract and starting work. I won't pretend to understand all the details in your situation, but the way I would do something like this is during the negotiation phase (figuring out how much to charge for the project, the scope of the project, NDAs and contracts being drawn up), bring up that you would like attribution, and would also like to copyright the work. The actual copyright of the work depends on the contract. Some are willing to give you full attribution and copyright control, and a lot will tell you they are paying for the actual work, making it their own.

If this bothers you, I highly recommend bringing it up before signing anything for your next contract, and try to get your terms in during negotiations. After you sign, they'll have all the rights outlined in the contract. Generally with contracts though, they'll want to have all rights to the final software, and leave you without access to any of it.

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If you didn't include this "end user license" in the original contract, I'd say you're in the wrong. In many jurisdictions, you can't retroactively remove rights or impose restrictions that would otherwise seem normal.

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