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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.
Move founder-created work into the company with a written assignment.
High complexity - significant legal consequences
- Work made before incorporation, or outside employment, belongs to the founder unless assigned.
- Use a written, signed assignment meeting section 19, covering worldwide rights for the full term.
- Investors usually check this.
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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.