Do You Own Your Logo? What Most Founders Get Wrong

Paying a designer doesn't automatically make you the owner of the work. This surprises most founders — and it creates real problems when they try to register a trademark, sell the business, or simply stop working with the designer.

The Default Rule: Copyright Belongs to the Creator

Under U.S. copyright law, the creator of a work owns the copyright in that work from the moment it's created. When you hire a freelance designer to create your logo, the designer owns the copyright — not you. You have a license to use the work (implied by the payment), but you don't own it. This means the designer could, in theory, use the same design for another client, sell it, or prevent you from modifying it.

The Work-for-Hire Exception

There are two ways to get copyright ownership without being the creator. First, if the designer is your employee (not a contractor), work created within the scope of employment is a "work for hire" and belongs to the employer. Second, for independent contractors, a work can be designated as work for hire in a written agreement — but only for certain categories of works specified in the Copyright Act. Logo design doesn't fall neatly into those categories, which means a written assignment is the more reliable approach.

The Right Approach: A Written Assignment

The cleanest way to own your logo is to have the designer sign a written copyright assignment as part of your agreement. The assignment should transfer all rights in the work — including the copyright — to you. Without this, you're relying on an implied license that may not cover all the uses you have in mind.

What to Do If Your Contract Is Silent

If you've already paid a designer and your contract doesn't address ownership, you're not necessarily without options. You can ask the designer to sign a retroactive assignment. Many designers will do this without issue — they may not have thought about it either. If the designer won't sign an assignment, you need to understand what rights you actually have before investing further in the brand.

The Trademark Connection

Trademark registration requires that you own the mark you're registering. If you don't own the copyright in your logo, you may not be able to register it as a trademark — or your registration could be challenged later. Sorting out ownership before you file saves time and avoids complications.