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Copyright: who owns this work - my business or the person who made it?
Paying for work does not always mean you own the copyright. The answer depends on who made it, on what terms, and what kind of work it is.
Read the agreement carefully - it decides the answer.
Moderate complexity - several routes or missing facts
- An agreement can change the default ownership rules in section 17.
- If it transfers copyright, check it meets section 19: in writing, signed, identifying the work, the rights, duration, territory and consideration.
Not sure whether this applies to your invention?
The honest answer usually needs someone to look at your actual disclosure, your timeline and the prior art. That is a conversation, not an article.