Posted by Jennifer M. Settles, Esq.  September 18,  2026

The “Work Made for Hire” Myth: Why You Might Not Own the Logo You Paid For

You hired a freelance designer to create your company’s logo. You paid the invoice, you’re using the logo everywhere, and you naturally assume you own it. Here’s an uncomfortable surprise that catches many business owners off guard: paying someone to create something doesn’t automatically make you the owner of the copyright. Without the right paperwork, the designer (not you) may still own the very logo, website, or content you paid for. This is one of the most common and costly intellectual property misunderstandings in business.

The Assumption That Causes the Problem

The intuition is completely understandable: I paid for it, so it’s mine. With physical goods, that’s usually true . . . buy a chair, and you own the chair. But copyright works differently. When someone creates an original creative work, such as a logo, a design, written content, code, photographs, copyright generally belongs to the person who created it, even if someone else paid them to make it. Payment buys you the deliverable, but not necessarily the underlying ownership rights, unless you’ve handled the legal side correctly.

What “Work Made for Hire” Actually Means

“Work made for hire” is a specific legal concept under copyright law, and it’s narrower than most people think. In general terms, works created by employees within the scope of their employment are typically owned by the employer as works made for hire. But for independent contractors and freelancers (who are also the people businesses most often hire for creative work), the “work made for hire” doctrine only applies in limited circumstances and generally requires a written agreement, and even then only for certain categories of work. Assuming it applies automatically to your freelancer is where businesses get burned.

Why the Freelancer Scenario Is the Trap

This is the heart of the problem. The independent designer, developer, or writer you hired is usually not your employee, so the automatic employer-ownership rule doesn’t apply. Unless you have an agreement that properly transfers ownership to you, the contractor may retain the copyright in what they created. You might have a license to use it, or you might be relying on an implied understanding, but you may not actually own it outright – which can become a serious problem if you ever need to enforce, modify, sell, or fully control that asset.

Why Ownership Actually Matters

It’s easy to shrug this off when things are going smoothly, but ownership matters at exactly the moments that count. If you want to register a trademark, modify the work freely, stop someone else from using it, sell your business with its intellectual property intact, or prevent the original creator from reusing or relicensing it, you need to actually own the rights. A buyer doing due diligence on your business will check whether you own your key IP—and discovering you don’t can complicate or derail a sale, or drastically impact your sale price.

The Fix: Get an Assignment in Writing

The reliable solution is straightforward: use a written agreement that clearly assigns ownership of the work to your business. Rather than relying solely on “work made for hire” language, which may not apply to your situation, a well-drafted agreement typically includes an explicit assignment of all rights in the created work to you. This should be handled up front, ideally before the work begins, as part of the contract with any contractor, freelancer, or agency creating something valuable for your business.

Clean Up What You Already Have

If you’ve been operating without these agreements, it’s worth getting ahead of it. Logos, websites, marketing materials, software, and content created by past freelancers may have ownership gaps. Where possible, putting proper assignments in place now, even after the fact, can resolve uncertainty before it becomes a problem during a financing, a sale, or a dispute. It’s far easier to secure these rights when your relationship with the creator is good than to chase them down later.

The Bottom Line

Paying for creative work doesn’t guarantee you own it. The “work made for hire” doctrine is narrower than its casual use suggests, and for the freelancers and contractors businesses commonly hire, ownership usually has to be transferred through a proper written assignment. Without one, you may not fully own your own logo, website, or content, which can have real consequences for control, enforcement, and the value of your business. The fix is simple and inexpensive compared to the risk: get ownership in writing, up front.

If freelancers or agencies have created your logo, website, or other key materials, it’s worth confirming your business actually owns them. Schedule a free consultation to review your agreements and close any ownership gaps before they cost you. Contact us at www.jsettleslaw.com or (602) 617-3938.

About the Author   Jennifer M. Settles makes business owners’ lives easier. With 25+ years structuring M&A deals, commercial contracts, corporate governance, and complex real estate transactions, including over two decades as lead in-house transactions counsel for major corporations, she brings big-firm firepower to the founders, dealmakers, and growing companies who need it most. Clients describe her as knowledgeable, refreshingly direct, and relentlessly focused on their best interests. Jennifer offers white-glove, direct-access service and transparent, predictable fees. Learn more or schedule a consultat