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You might be surprised ...
You hire a web development firm or independent contractor to design your website.
Do they own the finished work or do you?
Under U.S. copyright law, where an employee creates a website for an employer
during the scope of the employee’s duties, it is the employer – not the employee –
who can claim ownership of the original work.
The same is not necessarily true for creative work developed by independent
contractors unless the work is considered a “work made for hire.” While you may
own the content supplied to the developer – the underlying code, page layout,
and any other material used or created for your website might actually be owned
by the web developer.
Generally, as a “work made for hire”, the person for whom the work is prepared is
considered the author. The hiring party, not the one who actually created the
website, is considered to be the owner of the work, but only if the work is
“specially ordered or commissioned” for certain specific types of work and the
parties expressly agree in writing. Copyright ownership can also be freely
transferred by written agreement between the parties. Otherwise, the developer
owns the copyright.
Lack of ownership rights can severely limit your ability to use, modify,
transfer, or sell your website. For your protection, be sure you can prove
ownership of all the visible, written contents of your site. Register your
copyright today.
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