Entrepreneurs and business owners often hire a third party to create anything from websites to logos to ad copy. While these works may have been commissioned and paid for by the business owner, that doesn’t necessarily mean they own the rights to them.
I see this kind of thing happen all the time. A company pays an independent contractor for a given service and decides later on down the road that they no longer require the services of the independent contractor. They make their final payment and go on thinking nothing more about it until their website is take down, or their content is deleted, or their logo is held hostage…
This can, and DOES, happen.
But how, and why?
Well, there is something called “Work for Hire,” which many independent contractors execute before beginning work on a commissioned project. What this means is that you fully own the work they create. YOU own all the rights to it, so even if/when you stop paying them, the intellectual property remains yours and you can do with it what you want.
When hiring a graphic designer, website developer, videographer, copywriter, photographer, editor, etc., make sure the contract states that they are working on a “work for hire” basis if you want to be sure that the materials developed are fully owned by you.
If you want to learn more about Work for Hire, click the link to watch my video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPMpSTNxNkc&feature=youtu.be
If you’re not sure if you’re currently in a Work for Hire contract, or if you have any questions or concerns regarding your existing intellectual property, visit https://jhrlegal.com/ to see how I can help you.