Who Owns What?

This is not legal advice. I'd have to have a law degree and be a member of the bar to offer that. And I'm not. So for legal advice, contact an attorney.

(The above is a disclaimer, which is a legal device. I'm allowed to use that, even though I'm not a lawyer. I think.)

Intellectual property is a major concern for Creatives. The output of creativity is often something new and original, and many of these outcomes require protection with a patent, copyright, or trademark. Hairstyles might not, and your company's strategic plan doesn't, but logos certainly do, and you better protect that new video game, too. The question for you is: who owns the property?

You might think the answer is simple, that the company owns it. Obviously, that's the basic scenario we think of: employee works for company, employee creates something, company owns it, end of story.

But there are lots of exceptions and alternative scenarios. Does a university own something a professor creates if the funding came from an outside source? What if Creatives work on projects on their own time? What if you're working with free agents rather than full-time employees? What if...what if...what if...

It's better to ask these "what if" questions early on before problems arise. As part of your contract with your Creative you should address the topic of intellectual property. Both of you need to agree to the rules of the game, and also have a system in place to resolve issues that fall outside those rules.

For more on this, visit the US Patent and Trademark Office (where a lot of my friends happen to work). And of course, think about getting advice from an intellectual property lawyer. Don't just rely on blogs to fix this kind of issue.