IANAL, but it sounds like it's work-for-hire. If you pay someone to do work (particularly by the hour), it's my understanding that they own the intellectual property you generate.
Except this was for a class project, so it's possible the school owns the IP, and if a venture comes out of it, he company will have to ask the school for a license.
exactly. i just finished creating an application for a doctor, but since it was done as part of my master's program, the school owns the code. this means that though the doctor may have aspirations of turning it into a million-dollar product, he can't without working out a deal with my university. i'd be very surprised if this guy's school doesn't have a similar policy regarding code written for its classes. i think it's likely that the contract the other person's lawyer dad drew up is moot--the school probably already owns all (or most) rights to the stuff.
Interesting. I hadn't read the background of WFH. I guess in this case we're talking about contract work, because there's no physical office or purchase of equipment (two tests that are typically applied in determining employee vs. contractor). That means that all of the created IP belongs to the author. (Although, again, IANAL. :)
