Requests on BuildMyApp can be set to Public (visible to anyone on the web) or Verified Developers only (visible only to logged-in, GitHub-verified developers). You choose at post time and can change it later from the request edit page.
Do not post anything you would not want your selected audience to see. If your project requires confidentiality, consider describing the problem in general terms without revealing proprietary details.
BuildMyApp is a negotiation-free zone designed to remove buyer/seller friction.
This policy ensures serious listings and prevents lowball repricing.
Short answers to the worries buyers most often raise. Open the full Terms below for the complete legal text.
You pay only for the work you accept. A small deposit (currently 10%) is collected when you accept a proposal; the rest is charged as each delivery or milestone is accepted, so work you never accept is never charged. The developer fee and BMA's platform fee apply only to the work you accept.
BuildMyApp is a negotiation-free marketplace. Buyers list a fair price they are happy to pay, and qualified developers accept without haggling. Skipping negotiation removes a real cost (developer overhead, time-on-platform, anxiety pricing) and that saving flows back to buyers in the form of developers who can say yes to lower fair prices.
The cooldown prevents slow-motion haggling, where a buyer reposts the same concept at a lower price every few days until someone bites. Ninety days is short enough that a genuine change in your situation (new budget, revised scope) can be honestly reflected, and long enough that the marketplace isn't gamed by serial repricing.
Acceptance criteria are AI-reviewed before your request goes live, to make sure they are objectively verifiable. The developer must meet those criteria, exactly as posted, before you pay anything. You set the bar; the platform holds the developer to it.
You have three independent recourse paths and don't have to wait for any single one:
If a dispute hits the mediation deadline without an agreement, or either party walks out of mediation, the build is cancelled and your held funds are refunded in full. No platform fee is retained. Abandonment by either side is recorded on that party's reputation.
A 30-day warranty starts the moment you accept. If the software fails any of the acceptance criteria you wrote, the developer has 10 days to fix it or you receive a full refund. AI arbitration determines whether the failure is covered, so disputes are resolved quickly.
You pay a small deposit (currently 10%) when you accept a developer's proposal, not when you post the request. The rest is charged to your saved card as work is accepted: for a single delivery, the balance when you accept the finished build; for a milestone build, each milestone when you accept it (milestones you never accept are never charged). Each non-final milestone is paid out to the developer right away; the final milestone (and a single-delivery balance) is held through the 30-day warranty period and released only after it closes without a valid claim.
It's a developer accountability tool that works for you. The platform watches the developer's repository for substantive progress, so a developer who goes dark or stalls is caught automatically. You don't have to chase anyone, and you can act on rejection or missed-deadline cancellation in parallel.
Every BuildMyApp build follows the same IP framework regardless of license type. The license type you select only controls one piece of it: the Foreground IP.
You receive the Foreground IP exclusively: no other buyer of this developer ever receives the same business logic, data models, branding, or buyer-specific integrations. The developer cannot reuse or resell the Foreground IP. Background IP, Residuals, Platform Contributions, and Anonymized Learnings work as described above. Price is usually higher to reflect exclusivity.
You receive the right to USE the delivered software for your own purposes, including in your business. Price is usually lower than Exclusive.
How long that right lasts depends on the plan you buy. A one-time purchase is perpetual: it does not expire and does not depend on continuing to pay. A subscription lasts for the term you have paid for and ends when the subscription ends. The listing tells you which you are buying before you pay.
What you can do: use it, run it, rely on it, and have your own staff and contractors use it on your behalf.
What you cannot do: resell it, license it to anyone else, transfer your license, publish it, list it anywhere, or distribute it. Those rights are not part of a Non-Exclusive license.
Who may sell it again depends on where it came from. For software commissioned through BuildMyApp under a Non-Exclusive license, BuildMyApp holds the commercialization rights: it may market, license and distribute it, including through app stores under its own accounts, the developer does not sell it independently, and you receive 25% of what BuildMyApp collects. For software whose commercialization rights its lister holds, the lister keeps them and there is no share to you. The listing page says which this is.
If you want to own it, choose Exclusive. Under an Exclusive license the Foreground IP is assigned to you, no other buyer ever receives it, you may publish and distribute it yourself, and neither the developer nor BuildMyApp may resell it.
Full legal terms appear in the BuildMyApp Terms & Conditions, Section "License Types and IP Rights."
Once the developer submits a delivery, you have a review window to accept or reject it. If you don't respond in time, the delivery is automatically accepted.
| Price Range | Review Window |
|---|---|
| Under $1,000 | 3 days |
| $1,001 – $10,000 | 7 days |
| $10,001 – $50,000 | 10 days |
| Over $50,000 | 14 days |
For builds delivered in milestones, the acceptance process applies independently to each milestone. The review window is based on the milestone's payment amount, not the total contract price. A build is considered fully accepted only when the final milestone is accepted. Once a milestone is accepted, it cannot be reversed.
Rejections open mediation automatically to help both parties resolve the issue. The developer may revise and resubmit. Rejection history is tracked on your buyer record and visible to developers.
After you accept a delivery, a 30-day warranty period begins, and you may file a claim if the software fails to meet your acceptance criteria. The developer's final payout is held by the platform through this period; for milestone builds, payments for earlier accepted milestones have already been released.
Milestone Builds: The warranty period begins only when the final milestone is accepted. Intermediate milestone acceptances do not start the warranty clock.
Claims are evaluated strictly against the acceptance criteria you wrote when posting the request.
Before posting, your acceptance criteria will be reviewed by AI to ensure they are objectively verifiable and reasonable within the scope of these warranty terms. Criteria may be modified to meet these standards.
Any disputes regarding warranty claims will be resolved through LLM Arbitration provided by Vilora.ai. AI review will compare the code at delivery time versus current state to determine if Buyer modifications contributed to the failure.
Version 2.3 -- Effective September 21, 2026
BuildMyApp is a demand-driven software marketplace operated by Maia AI, LLC. Buyers post software requests with fixed prices, developers submit proposals, and accepted proposals result in monitored builds with warranty protections. Builds may be delivered as a single deliverable or as a sequence of milestones, each with its own delivery, review, and payment cycle.
When you post a request on BuildMyApp, you choose its visibility:
You can change a request's visibility at any time. Whichever option you choose, please keep these in mind:
All requests are posted at a non-negotiable fixed price set by the buyer. Prices cannot be changed after posting. If a request expires without a developer accepting it, the buyer must wait 90 days before reposting the same concept at a different price.
BuildMyApp charges a 15% platform fee on all completed transactions. The remaining 85% is paid to the developer after the warranty period concludes without a valid claim.
Non-Exclusive License Revenue Sharing: For Platform-commercialized software (see Section 11), amounts BuildMyApp receives for commercializing it are shared: 50% to the developer, 25% to the original buyer, and 25% to BuildMyApp. For software whose commercialization rights its lister holds, the lister keeps them and the fees are shared 85% to the lister and 15% to BuildMyApp, with no original-buyer share.
For Platform-commercialized software (see Section 11), BuildMyApp alone commercializes it. Developers do not license, sublicense, distribute or sell that software independently, whether through BuildMyApp or through any other channel, and buyers receive rights to use it rather than rights to resell it. See Section 11 and Section 12.
Where BuildMyApp commercializes such software, the amounts it receives are shared: 50% to the developer, 25% to the original buyer, and 25% to BuildMyApp, calculated on what BuildMyApp actually receives after any app store, payment processor, or other third-party fees. BuildMyApp collects and distributes those shares.
Hosting Service Fee (Run Fee): Buyers who use BuildMyApp's hosted delivery form pay a monthly Run Fee covering the cost of running the software on BuildMyApp's infrastructure. The Run Fee is a hosting service fee paid to BuildMyApp; it is not a license fee, and it is separate from the listing or build purchase price. The buyer's license to use the software is paid for via the listing or build purchase price. The Run Fee is separate from any developer subscription price. On a subscription plan your recurring charge covers both: the Run Fee for hosting, and the developer's subscription price for the license. The listing shows you both amounts before you buy.
Post-warranty spin-up fees: Buyers who request a new delivery form after their 30-day warranty period (for example, downloading a desktop installer for the first time on day 60, or requesting a source repository transfer for the first time on day 45) pay a per-request spin-up fee to BuildMyApp. The fee is disclosed at the time of request. Software, installers, and repository invites already received during the warranty period remain available without additional charge.
Payments are processed through Stripe. When a buyer's request is matched with a developer, funds are held by the platform during the build period and the subsequent 30-day warranty period. Funds are released to the developer only after the warranty period concludes without a valid claim.
Milestone Builds: For builds delivered in milestones, you pay a deposit when you accept the proposal (credited toward the first milestone), and each milestone is then charged to your saved payment method when that milestone is accepted, rather than the full price being collected up front. When a non-final milestone is accepted by the buyer, that milestone’s payment is released to the developer immediately. When the final milestone is accepted, its payment is held through the 30-day warranty period before release. The platform fee (15%) applies to each milestone payment. (Builds begun before this change, or configured for full up-front capture, instead collect each milestone’s portion at the outset and release it on acceptance.)
Where a buyer is refunded -- in full or in part -- BMA does not retain any platform fee on the refunded portion. See the Refund Policy for the full breakdown.
For lump-sum custom builds, you pay a deposit (currently 10% of the agreed price) when you accept a proposal. You authorize BuildMyApp to charge the remaining balance to your saved payment method automatically when you accept the delivered build, or when the review window ends and the build is accepted automatically. If a balance charge fails, we will retry it and you can pay it directly from your build page; developer payouts are withheld until the balance is collected. If a build ends before delivery, the deposit is refunded to the buyer when the build is terminated on account of the developer's withdrawal (a developer quit, whether at fault or as a no-fault withdrawal for buyer unresponsiveness under the Developer Withdrawal section below) or termination for cause; other dispositions may apply per a mediation resolution's terms.
For milestone custom builds, the deposit is credited toward the first milestone. Each milestone is then charged automatically to your saved payment method when that milestone is accepted (or when its review window ends and it is accepted automatically). You pay only for milestones you accept. If a milestone charge fails, we retry it and you can pay it from your build page; the developer's payout for that milestone is withheld until it is collected, while work on later milestones may continue.
When a developer submits a delivery, the buyer has a review window to accept or reject it. If no action is taken within the review window, the delivery is automatically accepted.
| Price Range | Review Window |
|---|---|
| Under $1,000 | 3 days |
| $1,001 – $10,000 | 7 days |
| $10,001 – $50,000 | 10 days |
| Over $50,000 | 14 days |
Milestone Builds: For builds delivered in milestones, the acceptance process applies independently to each milestone. When a developer submits a milestone delivery, the buyer has a review window to accept or reject that specific milestone. The review window duration is determined by the milestone’s payment amount (not the total contract price), using the same price-range table above. If no action is taken within the review window, the milestone is automatically accepted.
A build delivered in milestones is considered fully accepted only when the final milestone has been accepted. Acceptance of individual milestones is binding -- once a milestone is accepted, it cannot be reversed through subsequent milestone rejections or build cancellation.
After acceptance, a 30-day warranty period begins. During this period, the buyer may file a warranty claim if the delivered software fails to meet the acceptance criteria specified in the original request.
Milestone Builds: For builds delivered in milestones, the 30-day warranty period begins only when the final milestone is accepted (i.e., when the build as a whole is complete). Intermediate milestone acceptances do not start the warranty clock. The warranty covers the entire delivered build, not individual milestones in isolation.
Covered: Features and functionality listed in acceptance criteria that stop working and are not fixed by the Developer within 10 days of notification of a warranty claim submitted through BuildMyApp, provided there have been no changes to the code files that may have caused or contributed to the failure.
Warranty Process: (1) Buyer files a warranty claim identifying the specific acceptance criteria violated. (2) AI review determines whether buyer-side code changes may have caused or contributed to the issue. (3) If the issue is valid, the Developer has 10 days to fix it. (4) If the Developer does not fix the issue within 10 days, a full refund is issued to the Buyer.
Not covered: New feature requests, compatibility with environments not specified in the original request, performance expectations not defined in acceptance criteria, issues caused by the buyer's modifications to the delivered code (as determined by AI review).
AI Review: Acceptance criteria are reviewed by AI before posting to ensure they are objectively verifiable and reasonable within the scope of warranty coverage. Criteria may be modified to meet these standards. AI review also compares the code at delivery time versus current state to determine if buyer modifications contributed to a warranty claim.
Final-Delivery Scope: "Delivered Forms" are the channels through which you receive a build: a hosted instance, a downloaded installation, or the transfer of a private Git repository. Warranty covers each Delivered Form for 30 days from purchase (listings) or sign-off (commissioned builds). Warranty fixes for Delivered Forms you have already received propagate to all of them: a fix may arrive as a redeployed hosted instance, a new signed installer at your stable download URL, or a new commit on your private repository, whichever Delivered Forms you have. Delivered Forms you request after your 30-day warranty window has ended incur a spin-up fee per Delivered Form (currently $19). Note: additional deployments do not alter original warranty periods. The acceptance environment provisioned for commissioned builds is not under warranty after sign-off; if you opted not to keep hosted as one of your Delivered Forms, that environment is paused for 30 days and then permanently removed.
Dispute Resolution: Any disputes regarding warranty claims will be resolved through LLM Arbitration provided by Vilora.ai.
Buyers may reject a delivery during the review window. Rejections open mediation automatically, facilitated by Vilora.ai, to help the parties resolve the issue. The developer may revise and resubmit the delivery. Rejection history is tracked on the buyer’s record and is visible to developers as part of the buyer’s acceptance rate.
Milestone Builds: When a buyer rejects a milestone delivery, no funds are moved. The rejection opens mediation automatically, and the developer may revise and resubmit the milestone. Previously accepted milestones and their released payments are not affected by a subsequent milestone rejection. If the build is cancelled after repeated rejections, only payments for unaccepted milestones are refunded to the buyer; payments already released for accepted milestones are kept by the developer.
Build Cancellation: If a delivery or milestone accumulates repeated rejections without resolution, either party may request cancellation. Upon cancellation, held funds for unaccepted work are refunded to the buyer. Funds already released for accepted milestones are not recoverable through cancellation.
Mediation Deadline: Mediation is time-bounded. If a resolution is not agreed within 10 days of mediation opening, or if either party ends mediation before that window closes, the build will be automatically cancelled. Held funds will be refunded to the buyer in full, funds already released for accepted work remain with the developer, and the unresolved mediation will be recorded on both parties’ profiles.
If the developer has not delivered by the proposal’s estimated completion date plus a 20% grace window, the buyer may terminate the build. Held funds are refunded to the buyer in full and the request may be reposted. The developer’s “terminated for cause” counter increments.
See the Refund Policy for refund mechanics.
Before delivering, a developer may withdraw from a build (a “quit”). On withdrawal, all funds held for the build are refunded to the buyer in full, any deposit is returned, and the request may be reposted for new proposals. Funds already released to the developer for accepted milestones are not affected. How the withdrawal is recorded on the developer’s public reputation depends on the reason, as described below.
At-fault withdrawal. A withdrawal counts against the developer’s public “Quits” reputation when the developer steps away for reasons within the developer’s control (for example, changed circumstances, lack of capacity, or a scope mismatch the developer chose not to resolve).
No-fault withdrawal for buyer unresponsiveness. A withdrawal is treated as no-fault and does not count against the developer’s “Quits” reputation when the build cannot proceed because the buyer has stopped responding. This no-fault treatment applies only when all of the following are true: (a) the build was still pre-delivery and blocked awaiting the buyer’s input, such as a required item or a direct question; (b) the developer made at least two attempts to reach the buyer on the build; and (c) at least 14 days passed with no response from the buyer. The buyer is refunded in full in this case as well: the no-fault designation affects only the developer’s reputation, not the buyer’s refund. BuildMyApp may review whether these conditions were met and reclassify a withdrawal that does not qualify.
During active builds, BuildMyApp monitors the developer's GitHub repository for commit activity. Commits are assessed by AI to determine whether they represent substantive progress. If no substantive commits are detected for 14 consecutive days, the build may be revoked.
BuildMyApp maintains computed reputation metrics for all users, including completion rates, acceptance rates, warranty claim rates, and ratings. These metrics are public and cannot be manipulated. They are calculated from actual platform activity.
Every build delivered through BuildMyApp follows the IP framework set out below, regardless of the licensing preference selected at request time. The choice between Exclusive and Non-Exclusive controls only the rights granted in Foreground IP; the remaining categories apply identically to both license types.
Foreground IP (Buyer-owned under Exclusive; licensed under Non-Exclusive). “Foreground IP” means the business logic, data models, user interfaces, branding, and buyer-specific integrations created by the Developer for the Buyer in connection with a request. Under an Exclusive license, no other buyer ever receives the Foreground IP; the Developer assigns the Foreground IP to the Buyer on acceptance. Under a Non-Exclusive license, the Buyer receives a worldwide right to USE the Foreground IP for the Buyer's own purposes, and nothing more: the Buyer does not receive the right to resell, sublicense, transfer, publish or otherwise distribute it, whatever the software's origin. The Developer retains ownership of the Foreground IP. Where the software is Platform-commercialized, as defined under "BuildMyApp's commercialization rights" below, the Developer grants BuildMyApp those exclusive rights and does not commercialize the software independently; where its commercialization rights are held by its lister, the lister keeps them. Both are subject to the revenue-sharing terms in Section 4 and the obligations in Section 12.
What your Non-Exclusive license lets you do, and what it does not. This is the same whatever the software's origin. You may use the software for your own purposes, including in your business, and you may let your own employees and contractors use it on your behalf. You may not sell it, license or sublicense it to anyone else, transfer your license, publish it, list it on any marketplace or app store, or otherwise distribute it, whether for payment or free of charge. If you want rights beyond use, that is an Exclusive license, and it is priced differently.
How long a Non-Exclusive license lasts. There are two kinds, and the listing or proposal tells you which one you are buying before you pay.
Perpetual. If you paid a one-time price, whether for a commissioned build or for a listing bought on a one-time plan, your right to use the Foreground IP is perpetual. It does not expire and it does not depend on continuing to pay anything. If that software is hosted by BuildMyApp, the monthly Run Fee keeps it running for you; stopping the Run Fee stops the hosting, not your license. See Section 4.
For as long as you subscribe. If you bought on a subscription plan, a recurring monthly or yearly price set by the developer, your right to use the Foreground IP runs for the subscription term you have paid for and ends when that term ends. It renews automatically with each renewal payment. If you cancel, or if a renewal payment is not collected, your license runs to the end of the period you have already paid for and then ends. We do not prorate a cancellation, and we do not cut your license short inside a period you have paid for.
If a payment is reversed. If you are refunded in full for a subscription period, or you charge that payment back, your license for that period ends. If a chargeback is later resolved in BuildMyApp's favour and the payment stands, your license for that period is restored. Other periods you have paid for are not affected, including periods after the one reversed. A partial refund does not shorten the period it relates to.
What it means when a subscription license ends. Your right to use that software ends with it. Your hosted environment stops running, and if you hold any other copy of the software, for example a desktop installer, you must stop using it and remove your copies. Your own data is yours and is not affected: for 30 days after the subscription ends we keep your data available so that you can export it, and we delete it after that. Resubscribing restores your license, and if you resubscribe inside that 30-day window it restores your data too.
Which version of these Terms applies to a purchase. When you buy a license, BuildMyApp records the version of these Terms in effect at that moment against that transaction. That recorded version governs, for the whole life of that purchase: the license granted, how long it lasts, who owns what, and how any resale revenue is shared. A perpetual right you already hold stays perpetual, and a later version of these Terms does not shorten, convert, or add conditions to it. Everything else in these Terms, including your use of the platform generally, dispute resolution, governing law and limitation of liability, is governed by the current version as provided in Section 15.
What BuildMyApp will not do. Once a subscription license has ended, BuildMyApp will not issue you a new copy of that software or a new delivery form for it, and will not accept a spin-up fee for one. Resubscribing is the way back.
Apps distributed through an app store. Some software reaches its users only through the Apple App Store, the Google Play Store, or a similar consumer app store, which requires a developer account with that store and acceptance of that store's own terms. Where software you receive through BuildMyApp is that kind of app, whether it was built for you or bought from a listing, the following applies in addition to everything above.
Under an Exclusive license, you publish it. Your rights in the Foreground IP include the right to publish, distribute, and update that app through an app store under your own developer account, and to keep doing so. You publish under your own account, your relationship with Apple, Google, or any other store is between you and them, and BuildMyApp is not a party to it, does not publish on your behalf, and is not responsible for app review outcomes, store policy changes, or a store's decision to reject or remove an app.
Under a Non-Exclusive license of Platform-commercialized software, BuildMyApp publishes it. Publication is commercialization, and for that software it belongs to BuildMyApp alone, so the Developer does not publish it either. BuildMyApp publishes under its own developer account and shares what it receives as set out in Section 4. BuildMyApp is not required to publish anything.
Under a Non-Exclusive listing of software whose commercialization rights its lister holds, the lister publishes it. That software is outside BuildMyApp's commercialization rights, so the lister keeps the right to publish and maintain it under its own developer account, on the Section 4 terms for lister-held software.
The Buyer does not publish it under EITHER Non-Exclusive regime. A Non-Exclusive license is a right to use the software, not to distribute it, so publication to an app store is not something the Buyer may do whoever else may.
If a subscription license ends. Your right to USE the app ends, so stop using it and remove your copies, as set out under "What it means when a subscription license ends" above. Nothing here asks you to withdraw an app from a store, because a Non-Exclusive buyer never published one.
BuildMyApp's commercialization rights (Platform-commercialized software only). "Platform-commercialized software" means software created through a BuildMyApp build that the buyer commissioned under a Non-Exclusive license, including later versions and derivatives of it. BuildMyApp's records of the build and its license decide whether software is Platform-commercialized. It does not include software acquired through BuildMyApp under an Exclusive license, whether by commissioning it or by a buy-out, or software created outside BuildMyApp. Software outside this definition is lister-held software: software whose lister holds, and certifies that it holds, its commercialization rights, subject to BuildMyApp's records where a BuildMyApp build exists. Section 4's lister-held revenue terms apply to it instead.
For Platform-commercialized software, the Developer grants Maia AI, LLC the EXCLUSIVE, worldwide, irrevocable right to market, advertise, license, sublicense, distribute, publish and otherwise commercialize that software, on its own behalf and at its own discretion. Exclusive means the Developer does not exercise those rights itself and grants them to nobody else.
What the right covers. It covers the Foreground IP as delivered under that Non-Exclusive license, including later versions and derivatives of it that the Developer owns and is free to license at the time BuildMyApp exercises the right. It does not cover Foreground IP that the Developer has assigned, or has agreed to assign, exclusively to another buyer, and it does not extend to any third-party or Background IP beyond the rights the Developer actually holds and may sublicense.
Priority between grants. Where the Developer later creates software that is substantially similar to Foreground IP already covered by this right, this right continues to cover the earlier delivered Foreground IP and the derivatives of it that the Developer still owns, and does not attach to the later work where the Developer has granted that later work exclusively to another buyer. The Developer may not grant an Exclusive license that would defeat this right in the earlier delivered Foreground IP, and remains liable to BuildMyApp if it does.
What BuildMyApp may technically do with it. So that these rights can actually be exercised, and limited to commercializing and supporting the covered software, the grant includes the right to reproduce, host, run, compile, build, sign, package, port, adapt, modify, update and create derivative versions of the software, to submit it to app stores and respond to their review, and to authorize service providers and distributors to do the same on BuildMyApp's behalf. It does not extend to any third-party or Background IP beyond the rights the Developer actually holds and may sublicense, and the Developer identifies before delivery any component whose license prevents this grant.
Through any channel. BuildMyApp may exercise this right through the BuildMyApp platform or through any other channel it judges appropriate, including the Apple App Store, the Google Play Store, other app stores and distribution platforms, and direct or reseller arrangements, and may publish under its own developer or publisher accounts and under its own branding.
What it pays. Revenue BuildMyApp receives from exercising this right is shared on the same basis as any other commercialization of Platform-commercialized software: 50% to the Developer, 25% to the original Buyer, and 25% to BuildMyApp, calculated on the amount BuildMyApp actually receives after any app store, payment processor, or other third-party fees.
It is a right, not an obligation. BuildMyApp is not required to distribute any software, may stop at any time, and gives no assurance of sales, placement, or continued availability.
It survives. This right continues for software already delivered under a Non-Exclusive license even if the Developer later delists the software, stops offering it, or leaves the platform.
It does not reach Exclusive software. This right does not apply to software delivered under an Exclusive license, and nothing in it permits BuildMyApp to distribute Foreground IP that has been assigned to a Buyer under an Exclusive license.
What it leaves with each of you. The Buyer keeps the full right to USE the software under their license. The Developer keeps ownership of the Foreground IP, keeps its Background IP, Residuals and Anonymized Learnings under this Section, and keeps its share of what BuildMyApp collects under Section 4. What the Developer does not keep is the right to commercialize this software itself.
Converting to a perpetual license. BuildMyApp may, but is not required to, offer subscribers the option to convert a subscription license into a perpetual one by paying a one-time price it sets at the time, with or without credit for subscription payments already made. No such option exists unless and until BuildMyApp offers it.
Background IP (Developer-retained, embedded license to Buyer). “Background IP” means generic scaffolding, utilities, framework adapters, build tooling, libraries, and similar non-buyer-specific materials that the Developer brings to, or develops independently of, a particular engagement. The Developer retains all right, title, and interest in Background IP. The Buyer receives a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive, worldwide license to use, reproduce, modify, and distribute Background IP solely as embedded in the delivered software. The Developer may reuse Background IP without restriction in other engagements, on or off the platform. Where the Buyer's Foreground IP license is a subscription license, this embedded Background IP license runs for the same term and ends with it. The Developer's ownership of Background IP is unaffected either way.
Residuals (Developer-retained). “Residuals” means general methods, techniques, design patterns, and know-how retained in the unaided memory of natural persons performing work on the engagement or in the working memory of AI tools used by the Developer in the ordinary course. The Developer may use Residuals freely in future engagements. This carve-out does not authorize disclosure of Confidential Information that the Buyer has identified in writing as confidential, or that a reasonable person would understand to be confidential under the circumstances.
Platform Contributions (BuildMyApp-owned). Any modifications, contributions, or improvements to BuildMyApp’s own platform code, conventions, build tooling, skills, or operational documentation that the Developer makes during the course of a build are owned exclusively by Maia AI, LLC. The Developer assigns such Platform Contributions to Maia AI, LLC upon creation, and agrees to execute any further instruments reasonably necessary to perfect that assignment.
Anonymized Learnings (Developer-retained). The Developer may retain build retrospectives, lessons learned, and similar reflective materials for the purpose of improving the Developer’s practice, provided that all Buyer-identifying details, Confidential Information, and Foreground IP have been removed.
Relationship to other sections. The Non-Exclusive revenue-sharing terms in Section 4 apply to Foreground IP only, and apply to subscription payments in the same way as to one-time purchase fees. The Developer Obligations in Section 12 (including ownership representation and non-infringement) apply to all categories above.
These additional terms apply to all developers who submit proposals or deliver software through BuildMyApp.
Ownership Representation: By submitting a proposal or delivering software, you certify that you are the original author of all code you deliver, or that you have the full legal right to sell or license it.
IP Non-Infringement: You represent that your delivered software does not infringe any third-party intellectual property, patents, trademarks, or copyrights.
No Unauthorized Code: Your delivered software must not contain code from employers, clients, or projects where you do not hold distribution rights. This includes code written under employment agreements, client contracts, or open-source licenses that are incompatible with the buyer's licensing selection.
Non-Exclusive License Obligations: For Platform-commercialized software you deliver, as defined in Section 11, BuildMyApp alone commercializes it. Software whose commercialization rights you hold is not covered by this paragraph: you keep them, and the Section 4 revenue terms for lister-held software apply. You grant Maia AI, LLC the exclusive commercialization rights described in Section 11 under "BuildMyApp's commercialization rights", and you do not market, license, sublicense, distribute, publish or sell that software, or substantially similar software, yourself or through anyone else, on any channel including app stores.
What you keep. You keep ownership of the Foreground IP. You keep your Background IP, your Residuals and your Anonymized Learnings under Section 11, and you may reuse them in other engagements without restriction, including in genuinely different products built on the same scaffolding. You keep 50% of what BuildMyApp receives for commercializing the software.
Grant of what BuildMyApp needs. You grant Maia AI, LLC every right reasonably necessary to commercialize the completed software, including the right to sublicense it to buyers and to end users, to publish it under BuildMyApp's own accounts and branding, and to authorize third parties to distribute it. Where the software contains third-party or open-source components, you warrant that the rights you grant here are rights you actually hold and may pass on.
What "substantially similar" means here. It is the software delivered under that non-exclusive license, and any later version or derivative of it that would serve as the same or a successor product. It does not include a separate product that merely reuses your Background IP, Residuals or general know-how.
If you want to commercialize it yourself. Ask. BuildMyApp may release or narrow these rights in writing for a given product, and is not obliged to.
Indemnification: You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Maia AI, LLC (BuildMyApp) and any buyers or licensees from all claims, damages, and expenses arising from intellectual property infringement, ownership disputes, or misrepresentation of rights related to software you deliver through the platform.
BuildMyApp may, at its sole discretion, hide, redact, or remove content posted to any collaboration session, listing Q&A thread, or other user-facing surface on the platform if such content is determined to violate these Terms, infringe on third-party rights, or otherwise harm the platform or its community. Hidden messages remain in place with a moderated notice; their original content is suppressed for non-moderator viewers.
BuildMyApp provides a platform for matching software developers with software buyers and does not develop, sell, license, or warrant any software or services provided by users. All transactions and interactions between users are solely between the participating parties. BuildMyApp disclaims all liability arising from or related to any software, services, or other materials provided by users, including any claims related to performance, defects, infringement, or failure to meet expectations.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, the total aggregate liability of BuildMyApp arising out of or related to these terms or the use of the platform shall not exceed the total fees paid by a Buyer to BuildMyApp for a specific transaction giving rise to the claim.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Maia AI, LLC, its affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, revenue, data, or business opportunities, arising out of or related to the use of, or inability to use, the platform or services, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so the above limitations may not apply to the extent prohibited by law.
These Terms & Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any legal action or proceeding arising out of or related to these terms or the use of the platform shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Travis County, Austin, Texas, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.
By using BuildMyApp, you agree to these Terms and Conditions. Continued use of the platform after changes to these terms constitutes acceptance of the revised terms for your use of the platform.
This does not reach a license you have already bought. The purchase-specific rights identified in Section 11 under "Which version of these Terms applies to a purchase" -- the license granted, its duration, the ownership allocation, and the resale revenue split -- continue to be governed by the version recorded against that transaction, whatever version you later accept.
Version 1.5 — Effective September 21, 2026
These terms apply to developers who list software for purchase or buy-out on the BuildMyApp marketplace.
By listing software on BuildMyApp, you certify that you are the original author of the listed software, or that you have the full legal right to sell or license it.
For software that did not come from a BuildMyApp build, you also certify, when you list it, that you hold the exclusive commercialization rights in it: no one else may sell, license or distribute it in a way that conflicts with the listing. Where BuildMyApp's records show that software came from a BuildMyApp build, those records, and not this certification, decide who may list it.
You represent that your listed software does not infringe any third-party intellectual property, patents, trademarks, or copyrights.
Your listed software must not contain code from employers, clients, or projects where you do not hold distribution rights.
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Maia AI, LLC (BuildMyApp) and any buyers or licensees from all claims, damages, and expenses arising from intellectual property infringement, ownership disputes, or misrepresentation of rights related to software you list or sell through the platform.
When you sell software under an exclusive license, you must transfer all rights in the Foreground IP (as defined in the BuildMyApp Terms & Conditions, Section 11 “License Types and IP Rights”) to the buyer and remove all copies of the Foreground IP from your possession within 7 days of the sale. You retain Background IP, Residuals, and Anonymized Learnings as defined in that section, and the buyer receives a perpetual royalty-free license to use Background IP as embedded in the delivered product.
When software is offered for purchase under the platform's standard "Buy" option, each buyer receives a non-exclusive license to USE the software for their own purposes, on the plan that buyer selected, and no right to resell, sublicense, transfer, publish or distribute it. That is true of every non-exclusive purchase, whatever the software's origin. A one-time plan grants a perpetual use license. A subscription plan, meaning a recurring monthly or yearly price set on a hosted listing, grants a use license for the subscription term the buyer has paid for, which renews with each renewal payment and ends when the subscription ends. You must maintain the software in a deliverable state for the duration of the listing.
Who sells further licenses depends on the software's origin. For Platform-commercialized software, as defined in Section 11 of the BuildMyApp Terms and Conditions, BuildMyApp sells further non-exclusive licenses under Section 12 and you do not sell them independently. For software whose commercialization rights you hold, you keep that right and sell further licenses yourself, on the Section 4 terms for lister-held software.
For Platform-commercialized software, as defined in Section 11 of the BuildMyApp Terms and Conditions, BuildMyApp holds the commercialization rights and what it receives for that software is shared: 50% to you (the developer), 25% to the original buyer, and 25% to BuildMyApp. You do not commercialize that software independently.
For software whose commercialization rights you hold, nothing changes: you keep them, and purchase fees are shared 85% to you and 15% to BuildMyApp.
Subscription listings. A subscription plan is a use-license subscription, not a maintenance or support contract, and the buyer's rights in the Foreground IP end when the subscription ends, as set out in Section 11 of the BuildMyApp Terms and Conditions. Subscription payments are shared on the same basis as purchase fees under this Section. If you withdraw a subscription plan, buyers who already subscribed keep their license and may keep renewing on the plan they bought until they choose to cancel; BuildMyApp will stop accepting new subscribers to a withdrawn plan. For Platform-commercialized software, withdrawing a plan does not withdraw the commercialization rights BuildMyApp already holds in software already delivered; for software whose commercialization rights you hold, BuildMyApp holds no such rights and withdrawing a plan simply stops new subscriptions. Neither applies where a listing is removed under Section 8, in which case BuildMyApp will tell affected subscribers what happens to their license.
App Store and Play Store distribution. Software whose primary distribution channel is the Apple App Store or Google Play Store is listed on BuildMyApp for delivery as source code. You may offer it under a buy-out (exclusive sale) under Section 5, under a non-exclusive "Buy" under this Section, or both. Under a buy-out, the buyer publishes and maintains the app under their own developer account and BuildMyApp is not a party to the buyer's relationship with the store.
Under a non-exclusive "Buy", publication is commercialization, and who holds it depends on the software's origin. For Platform-commercialized software it belongs to BuildMyApp alone: neither the buyer nor you publishes the app, and BuildMyApp may publish it under its own developer account. For software whose commercialization rights you hold, you keep the right to publish and maintain the app under your own developer account, on the Section 4 terms for lister-held software. Under either origin the buyer does not publish it, because a non-exclusive license is a right to use rather than to distribute.
Subscription plans are not offered for app-store software.
The Foreground IP / Background IP / Residuals / Platform Contributions / Anonymized Learnings framework defined in Section 11 of the BuildMyApp Terms and Conditions applies to all software sold or licensed under this Agreement, including buy-out, one-time non-exclusive, and subscription transactions.
By listing software on BuildMyApp, you grant Maia AI, LLC a non-exclusive, revocable right to display, market, and promote your listing on the platform. This grant is revocable by either party: by you (when you delist the software), or by BuildMyApp (under Section 8 below).
Separately from the revocable display grant above, for Platform-commercialized software, as that term is defined in Section 11 of the BuildMyApp Terms and Conditions, you grant Maia AI, LLC the commercialization rights described there under "BuildMyApp's commercialization rights". That grant is EXCLUSIVE and irrevocable as to software already sold or licensed, and it survives delisting under this Section and removal under Section 8.
This paragraph does not apply to software whose commercialization rights you hold, which stays yours to commercialize on the Section 4 terms for lister-held software, and it does not apply to software sold under a buy-out (exclusive sale) under Section 5.
BuildMyApp reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to suspend or remove any listing at any time, with or without prior notice, for violations of these Terms, intellectual property disputes, fraud signals, or other concerns related to the integrity of the platform or its community standards. Suspension is reversible upon resolution of the underlying concern; removal is terminal.
BuildMyApp also reserves the right to hide or redact messages posted in any collaboration session associated with a listing or transaction for the same reasons. Hidden messages remain in place visually with a moderated notice; their original content is suppressed for non-moderator viewers.
This discretion is in addition to, and does not waive, the indemnification obligations in Section 4.
Milestone delivery is an optional feature that splits project delivery into checkpoints with incremental payment releases. It is available for projects priced at $2,500 or more.
Each milestone has an auto-accept window based on the milestone's payment amount:
If the buyer does not accept or reject within this window, the milestone is automatically accepted.
Warranty claims on non-final milestones require proof of regression: the buyer must demonstrate that functionality which was working at the time of milestone acceptance has subsequently broken. This is a higher bar than the standard warranty, and is intended to protect developers from clawback of already-paid work.