IP Intelligence › Ask a Question › Copyright: who owns this work - my business or the person wh
Guided answer
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.
A freelancer, agency or contractorSoftware, text, a logo, a design, music or anything else← back a step
The freelancer probably owns it unless there is a written assignment.
High complexity - significant legal consequences
- Section 17: the author is the first owner. The commissioning rule in section 17(b) does not cover software, text, logos or designs.
- An assignment is valid only if it is in writing and signed by the assignor (section 19(1)).
- It must identify the work, the rights assigned, the duration and the territory (section 19(2)), and the consideration (section 19(3)).
- If the duration is not stated it is treated as five years; if the territory is not stated, India (section 19(5) and (6)). Rights not exercised within one year may lapse unless the assignment says otherwise (section 19(4)).
- The author keeps the right to claim authorship and to object to distortion harmful to their reputation (section 57).
Read next
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.