Small business owners have many intangible assets: photographs, website copy, sales brochures, etc. All of these are considered “intellectual property” – you own the copyright to anything your company creates for itself.

But what about when you hire someone outside the company to create something for you, like sales copy or web design? Who is the owner of that? What if you discover your intellectual property has been stolen?

There are two forms that every business owner should be aware of: the Contract Work Agreement and the Cease and Desist Letter.

contract work agreement

Anything that your company’s employees create for the company within the scope of their employment is company intellectual property. But when your company hires someone outside of the company, such as a freelancer or independent contractor, the rules change.

Independent contractors (working on their own time, with their own materials) are the legal owners of the work they create, whether or not someone hired them to do it, unless a Work For Hire Agreement has been signed naming to the enterprise. as the copyright owner.

A contract of employment for hire is not a complex document; You only need to include the necessary information about each party, the commissioned project and details about the agreement. Both parties will sign the document.

infraction letter

Now that you’ve established ownership of your website, images, or literature, what happens if someone else uses it without your permission? How can you stop them?

It’s easy, as long as you register the copyright to your material; copyright law says you need an official registration before you file a lawsuit. But there is a much cheaper and quite effective option that you could consider before a lawsuit occurs to you: sending a cease and desist letter.

This letter is simple, too: You send it to the party using your intellectual property without permission (or to that party’s attorney, if they have one and know who they are), and you demand that they. .. well, stop and desist what you’re doing.

The cease and desist letter must include the names of both parties, the title or description of the material that is being used inappropriately, and where you found it (the URL). It is helpful if you can include copyright registration information (the date and number), emphasizing how seriously you take this matter.

With the Work For Hire Agreement and Cease and Desist Letter by your side, you will be able to manage your company’s intellectual property.