Judgment Date: 30 Jul 2018
Sprintroom Ltd (2018)
Summary
A software development company whose sole programmer provided his services through a personal service company was found to own the copyright in source code authored by the programmer because its relationship with him was realistically one of employer and employee. There was a clear public interest in everyone paying taxes properly due, and not escaping their tax liability by devices falsely describing their contractual relationships. Where a court had concerns that labels which the parties had chosen to apply to their relationship were untrue and had been applied as a tax-avoidance device, it should consider the issue of its own motion, declare the true legal position, and leave it to HMRC to claim any taxes.
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