Last week I found myself red-faced as a business adviser asked me for legal evidence that I owned the copyright on the brand assets for Watertight Marketing. The logo, the bucket icon… that sort of stuff. “Of course”, I said.

Now, I’ve worked in an agency, so I know full well that if the transfer of copyright ownership is not officially documented then it actually remains with the originator of the design (the graphic designer or agency), not with the commissioner (client, or me in this instance) of that design. So, it was with horror that I looked back through my paperwork to find no evidence that the transfer of rights had come across to my business when I had the brand visuals expertly designed.

This doesn’t only apply to design work. Illustration, photography, copy, web code… whatever. If somebody else is the creator or originator of the material, they own it, unless they transfer ownership to you.

Which meant that my designer still owned my brand!

Fortunately for me, I have an excellent and long-standing relationship with the Andy Fuller of DesignBull who designed the Watertight Marketing visuals. He is a consummate professional, and was able to provide me with the transfer document within half an hour of asking, and didn’t even charge me for his time in doing it. All I needed to do was ask!

What I should have done, of course, is ask before he did the work…

How do I know if I own the copyright on my visuals?

You should have a piece of paper that documents copyright ownership, signed by the originator and by you.

This needs to be clearly outlined in any agreement relating to creative works that you commission for your business. For example, in the Letter of Engagement that is issued before the work is started.

You should also make sure that you own all derivations of the work, and that you have the right to edit and adapt it. You may also want to consider what happens to the ideas that they came up with for you, but you didn’t go on to use.

What should I do if I don’t have this?

Well, I’m not a lawyer, so you’d be best off talking to someone who is. I imagine that they’ll tell you to ask for it, and to get it it writing.

It is well within the right of the originator to charge you for their time in doing this. They may also charge you for the copyright. It’s their intellectual property, so they can do this. A decent designer who’s been in the trade for a while will have been asked this before and should have an appropriate document. If not, talk to a lawyer about getting one drawn up.

What problems could this cause me?

At its most stark, Andy could have asked me to stop using my own brand. As a growing business, with an eye to investment or acquisition, you really do need to have this one nailed. You’ll need a full audit trail on what you own and what you do not.

So, it’s worth looking up your paperwork on any creative works that you have commissioned for your business… do you own it?

© Bryony Thomas – The Watertight Marketer