As stated before, you should always read the fine print before you sign a contract with someone. I personally include a Terms and Conditions page in a contract that has a paragraph that states that "all source files are the property of the Designer". That means if a client contracts me to build a Flash application, I retain the rights and property to the source files. They can choose to not sign the contract and write up a new one, but it is the clients responsibility to read and understand the contracts that they sign.

One example that might help everyone out is that a Wedding Photographer retains the rights and property of the negatives of the photos that they took. That means you have to order all photos through them. You do not get to keep the negatives, because that is not part of the service that the photographer offers. I have never known a wedding or artistic photographer to give the negatives to a customer, and they should not have to, because there is only one copy of them.

BUT, with an .FLA, you can make unlimited copies of the source files, so you should provide a copy for your client, but you still own the property and they are allowed to use it in the way that they want...

As I said before though, it all comes down to the contract.

rascalpants
New Media Designer
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http://www.rascalpants.com
http://www.kcnewmedia.com

"A Blacksmith's horse and a Cobbler's wife are the last to have new shoes."