Does Your Business Own the Logo, Website, and Content You Paid For?

By Bill Stilwell · Last reviewed October 16, 2026

The short answer

Paying for something doesn’t always mean you own it. Under U.S. copyright law, work an employee makes as part of the job belongs to the employer, but work from an outside contractor usually belongs to the contractor unless a signed written agreement says otherwise. Get signed assignments from every owner, contractor, and vendor who creates your logo, website, content, photos, code, or processes, and keep them on file.

What this means

Intellectual property (IP) is the stuff your business owns that you can’t hold in your hand. For a small business that usually means:

Logo and brand designs
Website design, text, and code
Photos and videos
Written content, like service pages and guides
Price sheets, checklists, and processes
Inventions or special methods

This page is the main home for related outline lines: 6.2.7 Intellectual-property ownership, 8.7.7 Intellectual-property assignment, 11.2.5 Intellectual-property assignment in vendor agreements, 23.6.7 Intellectual property for employees, and 27.3.6 Assignments.

The U.S. Copyright Office explains that a “work made for hire” happens in two ways. One is when an employee creates the work within the scope of their job. The other is when a commissioned work falls into one of nine specific categories and both sides sign a written agreement saying it’s a work made for hire. A logo or a website often doesn’t fit those nine categories. If a work isn’t made for hire, the person who created it is usually the owner.

Say a salon owner pays a freelance designer $800 for a logo. There’s no written agreement. The designer may still own the copyright. Years later, the salon wants to trademark the logo or sell the business, and finds out it never owned the design. A signed assignment would have fixed that for the price of a page of paper.

Why it matters

You can lose control of your brand. The creator could limit how you use the logo or reuse it.
Your website can be held hostage. A developer who owns the code or the account can refuse to hand it over.
Sales and investment can stall. Buyers check who owns the brand and content (see 27.4 Due-Diligence Folder).
Owners can claim personal ownership. If a founder made the logo before the company existed, the founder may own it personally until they assign it.

Who this applies to

Every business that uses a logo, website, photos, written content, software, or special processes. That’s nearly everyone.

It matters most when you use freelancers, agencies, or contractors, when an owner created things before the business was formed, or when you plan to sell or bring in investors.

How to do it

Make a list of everything the business uses that someone created: logo, website, photos, copy, templates, code, and processes.
For each item, write down who made it and when, and whether they were an employee, a contractor, or an owner.
For employee work, confirm the employee made it as part of their job. Add a clear ownership clause to employee agreements anyway (see 23.6.2 Offer Letters).
For contractor and agency work, get a signed written agreement that assigns ownership to the business. Don’t rely on the words “work for hire” alone, because many works don’t fit the nine categories.
For anything an owner created before or outside the business, have the owner sign an assignment to the business.
For stock photos, fonts, and plugins, keep the license terms. You usually get permission to use them, not ownership (see 27.3.5 Licenses and Permissions for Content).
Make sure the business, not a person or vendor, owns the accounts that hold the work, like the domain, hosting, and design files (see 13.1.2 Registrar Ownership and 13.3.8 Content Ownership).
Get the original files: logo source files, photo originals, and code.
Store all signed assignments in one folder and update your IP list.
Add an assignment clause to every new contractor and vendor agreement before work starts (see 11.2.2 Independent-Contractor Agreement).

What proof to keep

Your IP list with creator, date, and status for each item
Signed assignment agreements from contractors, agencies, and owners
Employee agreements with ownership clauses
License terms for stock photos, fonts, plugins, and software
Original source files

Keep these in your legal records folder and a copy in your due-diligence folder (see 27.4 Due-Diligence Folder).

Common mistakes

Thinking payment equals ownership. It doesn’t, without the right paperwork.
Using “work for hire” for a logo or website. Those often don’t fit the legal categories. Use an assignment.
Letting the web developer own the hosting or domain account. Ownership of the account matters as much as the code.
Forgetting the founder. If you made the logo yourself before forming the LLC, assign it to the LLC.
Getting the assignment after a fight starts. Ask before work begins, when everyone is happy.
Not getting source files. A flat image of a logo isn’t enough to make signs or changes.

When to get help from a pro

Attorney with IP experience: to write assignment language and review older work. Ask:

Does this agreement actually transfer ownership to my business, or just give us permission to use it?
What should I do about work made years ago with no agreement?
Should we register our trademark or copyright? (See 27.3.1 Trademark Registration and 27.3.2 Copyright.)

Bill’s note

[Bill: add a short story or opinion here. For example, a client whose former web designer or agency kept control of their site or logo, and how it got fixed.]

If you’d rather have this handled for you, SiteSmarty builds websites that the business owns, including the domain and content.

How I did this for SiteSmarty

[Date I did this:]
[What I actually did, step by step: built the IP list and collected assignments]
[What it cost and how long it took:]
[What surprised me or what I’d do differently: any item I found the business didn’t own]
[Screenshot or photo to add, with private info blurred: the SiteSmarty IP list]
[Result so far:]

Questions people ask

Do I own the logo a freelancer made for me? Not automatically. Unless you have a signed agreement transferring ownership, the designer may still own the copyright.

What is a work made for hire? Work an employee creates as part of their job, or certain commissioned works in nine specific categories with a signed written agreement. The U.S. Copyright Office explains the rules in Circular 30.

Does my business own what my employees create? Work employees create as part of their job generally belongs to the employer. A written agreement makes it clearer.

I made the logo myself before I formed my LLC. Who owns it? You may own it personally. Sign an assignment to move it to the LLC.

Audit check

Question: Does the business have signed proof that it owns every logo, website, content piece, photo, code base, and process it relies on?
Pass looks like: A complete IP list, signed assignments from contractors and owners, employee ownership clauses, license terms for stock items, original source files, and business-owned accounts.
Fail looks like: No IP list. Work from freelancers with no written agreement. Accounts held by a vendor. Only flat image files.
Evidence to collect: The IP list, signed assignments, license terms, and the account ownership records.

Where this fits

Do this first: 6.2.1 Ownership Percentages and Capital Contributions, 6.1.5 Employment Restrictions

Do this next: 6.2.8 Confidentiality Obligations

Sources

U.S. Copyright Office, Circular 30, "Works Made for Hire" (checked October 16, 2026)

This page explains general rules and Bill's own experience. It is not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Talk to a qualified professional about your situation.