Copyright Assignment / Work-for-Hire
The contract transfers ownership of the work to the brand, not just a use right.
What it means
This contract transfers ownership of your work to the brand. Once assigned, you are no longer the copyright owner; the brand is. You cannot license the work to anyone else, you cannot modify it, you cannot reuse it, and you cannot enforce against people who copy it. Assignment is permanent and irrevocable. It is fundamentally different from licensing, where you keep ownership and grant use rights.
A copyright assignment transfers ownership of the work to the brand, which goes further than any licence. After assignment, the brand can do anything an owner can do, including selling the work to another party.
What to check before you sign
- ·Is the contract structured as assignment ("assigns all right, title and interest") or as a licence?
- ·Does the fee structure include an explicit assignment premium, or is assignment bundled into a single fee?
- ·Are there any reversion triggers (rights revert on non-use, dissolution, breach)?
- ·Are portfolio, case study, and own-marketing rights carved out from the assignment?
- ·Is the assignment paired with a moral rights waiver and broad derivative rights?
- ·Does the brand have a clear operational need for ownership rather than a use right?
How to fix it
Ask to replace the assignment with an exclusive licence of defined scope and duration, so the creator keeps ownership.
Where assignment is preserved, add an explicit premium to the fee structure (typically 2-3x equivalent licensing) reflecting the ownership transfer.
Add a reversion trigger; rights revert to the creator on non-use for a defined period (e.g., 3 years), on the brand's dissolution or bankruptcy, or at the end of a defined window.
Carve out the creator's right to display the work in portfolio, case studies, awards submissions, and own-marketing channels with attribution.
Where assignment proceeds, preserve moral rights separately so the creator retains attribution rights and the right to object to derogatory treatment.
Negotiating it
"The agreement is set up as a copyright assignment rather than a licence. Could you explain the practical reason you need ownership? Would an exclusive licence for the agreed uses work instead? "
Copyright assignment combined with moral rights waiver, no portfolio carve-out, no fee premium reflecting the assignment, and broad derivative rights is a strong walk-away signal. The combination permanently transfers all creator interest in the work for a single-use campaign fee, the most adverse possible rights/payment balance.
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Educational guidance, not legal advice. For high-value or complex deals, get independent legal advice from a qualified professional.