Hi guys, so I am still in the development stage of my first iOS game I will be outsourcing the coding to an online freelancer (not through Odesk, Elance, Freelancer or any 3rd party sites). I will be providing him with all the graphics, sounds and also the Game Design Documents. My concern is that I feel like I have no real protection against him from finishing the game, then uploading it himself on the iOS store. Besides a written contract (I don't know how effective that is internationally and for freelance work), are there any safety measures, methods or programs I could use to prevent him from stealing the game? Any tips will be greatly appreciated!
Yeah thats the case. All you can do is work in small increments, keep in a bitbucket or something and make backups of the code. But end of the day even if you have good protections cost will probably stop you being able to do much if they are international.
Well you automatically have copyright of the graphics and I presume in the contract it says you own all the code and that he isn't stealing anyone's copyrighted code. You should get a C.V/resume of this developer and contact his references. See his previous work and check he actually had some part in it. Maybe do some research into the hopefully unlikely case of suing him. Is it easy to do in the country he originates from? Sometimes one letter from a lawyer/solicitor would all it takes to scare someone.
Do get a contract, but don't engage in a relationship with any freelancer/company if you feel you might actually ever need the contract. Build the relationship on trust, keep the contract in case of a nasty, unexpected surprise.
Well one way would be to keep sufficient proof that its your idea & you contracted this person for development - like a chain of emails. If this person uploads the game himself, then contact Apple & give them proof. I am pretty sure Apple will pull down the game